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THE 


General  Conferences 


OF  THE 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 


FROM 


1792  to  1896. 


PREPARED  BY  A  LITERARY  STAFF  UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION  OF 
REV.  LEWIS  CTJRTS,  D.  D.,  PUBLISHING  AGENT  OF  THE 
WESTERN  METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN. 


CJmrimtatt : 
CUKTS  &  JENNINGS. 

Beu>  T$ovk: 
EATON  &  MAINS. 


1900. 


Copyright,  1900, 
By  the  Western  Mkthodtst  Book  Concern. 


PREFACE. 


In  preparing  a  history  of  the  General  Conference,  the 
greater  part  of  our  information  must  be  derived  from  the 
Journals  of  that  body.  These  Journals  are  of  varying  full- 
ness, the  earlier  ones  being  extremely  meager,  and  some  of 
them  giving  but  little  more  than  catch- word  hints  of  Confer- 
ence action,  and  containing  none  of  the  reports  or  addresses. 
They  were  not  originally  intended  for  publication,  and  the 
Minutes  as  printed  seem  to  be  only  the  vague  notes  from 
which  the  secretary  might  prepare — though  he  did  not — a 
full  report  of  the  proceedings.  The  later  Journals  are  full ; 
and,  since  1848,  there  has  been  issued  a  daily  paper,  con- 
taining a  verbatim  transcript  of  the  debates,  addresses,  resolu- 
tions, and  reports.  These,  and  other  bound  volumes,  have 
all  been  consulted  in  the  preparation  of  this  work,  especially 
in  part  two. 

As  no  copy  was  ever  found  of  the  Journal  for  1792,  the 
General  Conference  of  1892  directed  the  Publishing  Agents 
to  employ  some  one  to  reproduce  it,  as  nearly  as  could  be 
done,  from  whatever  sources  of  information  were  accessible. 
This  task  was  committed  to  Rev.  T.  B.  JSeely,  D.  D.,  than 

whom  none  is  more  competent  to  accomplish  it.    The  result 

Hi 


iv  Preface. 

of  his  labors  appears  in  the  present  volume.  This  may  be 
accepted  as  the  full  Journal  of  proceedings  of  that  Confer- 
ence, and  it  is  an  important  addition  to  our  Methodist 
historical  literature. 

The  proceedings  of  all  the  other  General  Conferences  are 
given  only  in  abstract.  These  have  been  prepared  by  com- 
petent writers,  employed  by  the  Western  Methodist  Book 
Concern,  expressly  for  use  in  this  volume.  Only  the  more 
important  actions  are  referred  to ;  but,  in  the  two  parts,  the 
chronological  and  the  topical,  it  is  believed  that  the  average 
student  of  our  Church  history  will  find  all  that  he  cares  to 
know  about  the  great  Governing  Conference.  For  more 
minute  information  as  to  what  was  said  or  suggested,  he 
must  examine  the  Journals  themselves,  and  the  files  of  the 
Daily  Advocate. 

LEWIS  CURTS. 

Cincinnati,  March,  1900. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I.— CHRONOLOGICAL. 

TEAK.  PRINCIPAL  TOPICS.  PAGE. 

1792.    Establishment  of  the  General  Conference. — Schism  of 

James  O'Kelly. — Revision  of  Discipline,    ....  1 

1796.    Church  Polity.— Chartered  Fund  Established.— Form  of 

Deed  for  Church  Property. — Local  Preachers,  .    .    .  51 

1800.    Presiding  Elders. — Slavery. — Ministerial  Support,  ...  59 

1804.    Book  Concern  (Removed  to  New  York). — Slavery,  ...  65 

1808.  Delegated  General  Conference. — Restrictive  Rules.— Pre- 
siding Elders,  70 

1812.  First  Written  Episcopal  Address  (from  Bishop  McKen- 
dree). — Pastoral  Address  to  the  Church. — Two  Book 
Agents,  .75 

1816.    Slavery. — " Methodist  Magazine"  Ordered. — Episcopacy,  79 

1820.    Election  of  Presiding  Elders. — Revision  of  Hymn  Book 

— Status  of  Local  Preachers. — Book  Concern,    ...  84 

1824.    The  Presiding  Elder  Question.  —  Lay  Representation 

(Refused),  .    .    .  90 

1828.    The  "Radical"  Movement.— Presiding  Elder  Question 

Settled,  99' 

1832.    Missions.— Canada  Claims,  107 

1836.    Abolitionism,  113 

1840.    Slavery. — Temperance. — Woman's  Magazine  ("Ladies' 

Repository")  Ordered,  121 


Contents. 


YEAK.  l'KIXCIPAL  TOPICS.  PAGE. 

1844.    Slaveholding    in    the    Ministry. — Plan    of  Separation 

Adopted,  128 

1848.  Plan  of  Separation  Pronounced  Void. — Relations  of  the 
General  Conference  to  the  Church,  South. — Temper- 
ance.— Revision  of  Hymn  Book,  139 

1852.    Mission  Interests. — Lay  Delegation  Considered. — Church 

Sittings,  146 

1856.    Slavery. — Missionary  Bishops. — Lay  Delegation,     .    .    .  151 

1860.    Slavery. —  Lay  Delegation   (Submitted  to  Vote  of  the 

Church) ,  157 

1364.    Pastoral  Term  Extended. — Lay  Delegation  Approved. 

— Church  Extension. — Slavery,  162 

1868.    Lay  Delegation  Question.  —  Freedmen's  Aid  Society. — 

Board  of  Education,  169 

1872.    Lay  Delegates  Admitted. — Ecclesiastical  Jurisprudence. 

—Book  Concern,  ,  177 

1876.    Separate  Conferences  for  Colored  Preachers. — Revision 

of  Hymn  Book,  188 

1880.    Ecumenical  Conference. — Rights  of  Women  Defined. — 

Use  of  Tobacco. — Colored  Bishops,  196 

1884.    New  Church  Enterprises. — Marriage  and  Divorce,  .    .    .  202 

1888.  Eligibility  of  Women  as  Delegates. — Constitutional  Com- 
mission.— Deaconess  Work  Authorized,  208 

1892.  Young  People's  Societies  (Epworth  League).  —  The 
Woman  Question. — Constitutional  Commission  Re- 
port (Indefinitely  Postponed),  214 

1896.  Commission  on  Organic  Law. — Women  Delegates. — Con- 
ference Evangelists. — Deaconesses  to  be  Consecrated,  222 


Contents.  rii 
PART  II.— TOPICAL. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I.    The  Ministry,  233 

II.    The  Ministry  (Continued),  250 

I- III.    Slavery,   271 

IV.    Slavery  (continued),  290 

V.    Fraternal  Relations,   .    .    ;  310 

VI.    Lay  Delegation :  Men — Women,  332 

VII.    Church  Institutions  and  Societies,  352 

VIII.    Church  Work  in  the  South,  372 

IX.    The  Constitution,  390 

X.    The  Constitution  (Continued),  407 


PART  I. 

CHRONOLOGICAL. 


The  General  Conferences. 


1792. 

(BY  REV.  THOS.  B.  NEELY,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.) 

THE  first  quadrennial  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America  met  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  on  Thursday,  the  first  day  of 
November,  in  the  year  Seventeen  Hundred  and  Ninety-two. 

This  General  Conference  had  been  regularly  called  to  meet 
in  Baltimore  at  that  date.  Every  preacher  in  full  membership 
in  any  Annual  Conference  was  entitled  to  a  seat  in  the  General 
Conference,  and  the  attendance  was  very  general. 

v/Bishop  Thomas  Coke  and  Bishop  Francis  Asbury  were 
present,  and  presided;  Dr.  Coke,  as  senior,  doubtless  presiding 
at  the  beginning  of  the  session. 

On  the  first  day  the  Conference  appointed  a  committee  of 
the  oldest  preachers  and  a  few  of  the  younger  ministers  to 
prepare  business  for  consideration  and  action  by  the  Confer- 
ence. When  a  majority  of  the  committee  agreed  upon  a 
proposition,  and  especially  upon  any  alteration  in  the  form  of 
Discipline,  it  was  to  report  to  the  Conference  for  its  decision. 
Subsequently  the  membership  of  the  committee  was  increased. 
The  intention  of  the  Conference  in  the  creation  of  the  com- 
mittee was  to  expedite  business ;  but  as  after  test  it  was  found 
that  it  did  not  prevent  or  shorten  discussions  in  the  Confer- 
ence, the  plan  of  working  through  a  committee  was  abandoned, 
and  the  committee  was  discharged.  After  that,  any  member 
of  the  Conference  was  at  liberty  to  present  directly  to  the  body 
any  matter  he  might  desire. 

On  the  first  day  rules  of  order  were  adopted.  One  rule 
was  as  follows:  "It  shall  take  two-thirds  of  all  the  Conference 

1 


2  The  General  Conference.  [1792. 

l^to  make  a  new  rule  or  abolish  an  old  one;  but  a  majority  may 
^  alter  or  amend  any  rule." 

One  rule  as  to  debate  was,  "  That  each  person,  if  he  choose, 
shall  have  liberty  to  speak  three  times  on  each  motion.'^ — ■ 

SECOND  DAY— FRIDAY,  NOVEMBER  2. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  session,  the  Rev.  James  O'Kelly, 
of  Virginia,  offered  an  amendment  to  the  law  making  it  the 
duty  of  the  Bishop  "to  fix  the  appointments  of  the  Preachers 
for  the  several  circuits,"  so  that  preachers  might  have  the 
right  of  appeal  from  the  appointment  given  by  the  Bishop  to 
the  Annual  Conference. 

The  amendment  was  as  follows :  "After  the  Bishop  appoints 
the  Preachers  at  Conference  to  their  several  circuits,  if  any 
one  think  himself  injured  by  the  appointment,  he  shall  have 
liberty  to  appeal  to  the  Conference  and  state  his  objections; 
and  if  the  Conference  approve  his  objections,  the  Bishop  shall 
appoint  him  to  another  circuit." 

The  proposed  amendment  led  to  a  long  and  animated  dis- 
cussion. As  the  matter  related  more  to  the  administration  of 
Bishop  Asbury  than  to  that  of  Bishop  Coke,  who  was  fre- 
quently absent  from  the  country,  Bishop  Asbury  declined  to 
preside,  and  also  absented  himself  from  the  session  during  the 
pendency  of  this  question,  and  sent  to  the  Conference  the 
following  letter: 

My  Dear  Brethren,— Let  my  absence  give  you  no  pain— Dr.  Coke 
presides.  I  am  happily  excused  from  assisting  to  make  laws  by  which 
myself  am  to  be  governed  ;  I  have  only  to  obey  and  execute.  I  am 
happy  in  the  consideration  that  I  never  stationed  a  preacher  through 
enmity  or  as  a  punishment.  I  have  acted  for  the  glory  of  God,  the 
good  of  the  people,  and  to  promote  the  usefulness  of  the  preachers. 
Are  you  sure,  that  if  you  please  yourselves,  that  the  people  will  be  as 
fully  satisfied?  They  often  say,  "  Let  us  have  such  a  preacher ;"  and 
sometimes,  "  We  will  not  have  such  a  preacher — we  will  sooner  pay 
him  to  stay  at  home."  Perhaps  I  must  say,  "  His  appeal  forced  him 
upon  you."  I  am  one — ye  are  many.  I  am  as  willing  to  serve  you  as 
ever.  I  want  not  to  sit  in  any  man's  way.  I  scorn  to  solicit  votes  ;  I 
am  a  very  trembling,  poor  creature  to  hear  praise  or  dispraise.  Speak 
your  minds  freely  ;  but  remember,  you  are  only  making  laws  for  the 
present  time;  it  may  be,  that  as  in  some  other  things,  so  in  this,  a 
future  day  may  give  you  further  light.    I  am  yours,  etc., 

Francis  Asbury. 


1792.J 


The  General  Conference. 


3 


After  considerable  debate  upon  Mr.  O'Kelly's  proposition, 
the  Rev.  John  Dickins  moved  that  the  question  be  divided 
thus:  "First — Shall  the  Bishop  appoint  the  preachers  to  the 
circuits?    Second — Shall  a  preacher  be  allowed  an  appeal?" 

The  first  part  giving  the  Bishop  the  power  of  appointment 
being  put  to  vote,  it  was  carried  unanimously. 

On  the  second  part,  as  to  the  preacher  having  the  right  of 
appeal,  a  question  was  raised  as  to  whether  the  proposition  was 
a  new  rule  or  only  an  amendment  to  an  old  rule,  and  the  Con- 
ference decided  the  law  point  by  voting  that  it  was  only  an 
amendment  to  an  old  rule. 

THE  THIRD  DAY— SATURDAY,  NOVEMBER  3. 

The  debate  on  Mr.  O'Kelly's  amendment  was  continued  on 
Saturday,  the  third  day  of  the  session,  but  no  conclusion  was 
reached. 

THE  FOURTH  DAY— MONDAY,  NOVEMBER  5. 

On  Monday,  the  5th  of  November,  the  discussion  was  re- 
sumed, and  the  debate  continued  throughout  the  entire  day. 

Among  those  who  took  part  in  these  discussions  were  James 
O'Kelly,  Richard  Ivey,  Hope  Hull,  Freeborn  Garrettson,  Wil- 
liam McKendree,  and  Richard  Swift,  in  favor  of  the  right  of 
appeal ;  and  Henry  Willis,  Jesse  Lee,  Thomas  Morrell,  Joseph 
Everitt,  and  Nelson  Reed,  who  opposed  Mr.  O'Kelly's  amend- 
ment. 

At  5  o'clock  on  Monday  afternoon,  the  Conference  went  to 
the  German  Reformed  Church,  of  which  the  Rev.  Philip 
Otterbein  was  pastor,  and  there  remained  in  session  until  about 
8  o'clock  that  evening.  During  this  session  in  the  German 
Reformed  Church  a  decisive  vote  was  taken  upon  Mr.  O'Kelly's 
amendment,  and  the  proposition  granting  the  preacher  the 
right  of  appeal  from  the  appointment  by  the  Bishop  to  the 
Annual  Conference  was  decided  in  the  negative  by  a  large 
majority. 

THE  FIFTH  DAY— TUESDAY,  NOVEMBER  6. 

The  next  morning,  Tuesday,  November  6th,  immediately 
after  assembling,  the  Conference  received  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  James  O'Kelly  and  other  preachers,  who,  being  dissatisfied 


4 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


with  the  adverse  action  of  the  body  on  the  proposition  to  grant 
preachers  the  right  of  appeal  from  the  appointment  of  the 
bishop,  announced  that  they  could  no  longer  occupy  seats  in 
the  Conference,  and  that,  therefore,  they  withdrew  from  the 
General  Conference,  and  that  they  would  also  leave  the  travel- 
ing connection. 

Having  received  the  communication,  the  Conference  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  Freeborn  Garrett- 
son  and  two  others,  to  wait  upon  the  parties  who  had  withdrawn, 
and  to  endeavor  to  persuade  them  to  reconsider  their  purpose 
and  to  resume  their  seats.  The  committee  reported  its  failure 
to  reconcile  the  parties  to  the  decision  of  the  Conference  and 
to  induce  them  to  resume  their  places  in  the  body. 

REVISION  OF  THE  DISCIPLINE. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  Mr.  O'Kelly  and  his  followers,  the 
Conference  took  up  the  general  revision  of  the  Book  of  Dis- 
cipline and  other  formularies  of  the  Church. 

THE  COUNCIL. 

It  was  agreed  to  discard  the  plan  for  "the  Council"  which 
had  been  adopted  by  the  preachers  in  the  Conferences  of  1789, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Bishops.  The  plan  was  as 
follows : 

Q.  Whereas  the  holding  of  general  conferences  on  this  extensive  Con- 
tinent would  be  attended  with  a  variety  of  difficulties,  and  many  incon- 
veniences to  the  work  of  God;  and  whereas  we  judge  it  expedient  that  a 
council  should  be  formed  of  chosen  men  out  of  the  several  districts  as 
representatives  of  the  whole  connection,  to  meet  at  stated  times;  in  what 
manner  is  this  council  to  be  formed,  what  shall  be  its  powers,  and  what 
further  regulations  shall  be  made  concerning  it? 

A.  First — Our  bishops  and  presiding  elders  shall  be  the  members 
of  this  council ;  provided,  that  the  members  who  form  the  council  be 
never  fewer  than  nine.  And  if  any  unavoidable  circumstance  prevent 
the  attendance  of  a  presiding  elder  at  the  council,  he  shall  have 
authority  to  send  another  elder  out  of  his  own  district  to  represent 
him;  but  the  elder  so  sent  by  the  absenting  presiding  elder,  shall 
have  no  seat  in  the  council  without  the  approbation  of  the  bishop  or 
bishops,  and  presiding  elders  present.  And  if,  after  the  above  men- 
tioned provisions  are  complied  with,  any  unavoidable  circumstance, 
or  any  contingencies  reduce  the  number  to  less  than  nine,  the  bishop 
shall  immediately  summon  such  elders  as  do  not  preside,  to  complete 
the  number. 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


5 


Secondly — These  shall  have  authority  to  mature  everything  they 
shall  judge  expedient.  1.  To  preserve  the  general  union;  2.  To 
render  and  preserve  the  external  form  of  worship  similar  in  all  our 
societies  through  the  continent;  3.  To  preserve  the  essentials  of  the 
Methodist  doctrines  and  discipline  pure  and  uncorrupted ;  4.  To 
correct  all  abuses  and  disorders;  and,  lastly,  they  are  authorized  to 
mature  everything  they  may  see  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  church, 
and  for  the  promoting  and  improving  our  colleges  and  plan  of  edu- 
cation. 

Thirdly — Provided  nevertheless,  that  nothing  shall  be  received  as 
the  resolution  of  the  council,  unless  it  be  assented  to  unanimously  by 
the  council ;  and  nothing  so  assented  to  by  the  council,  shall  be  bind- 
ing in  any  district,  till  it  has  been  agreed  upon  by  a  majority  of  the 
conference  which  is  held  for  that  district. 

Fourthly — The  bishops  shall  have  authority  to  summon  the 
council  to  meet  at  such  times  and  places  as  they  shall  judge  expedient. 

Fifthly — The  first  council  shall  be  held  at  Cokesbury,  on  the  1st 
day  of  next  December. 

This  plan  for  the  Council  was  not  printed  in  the  Book  of 
Discipline,  but  was  printed  in  the  Annual  Minutes  of  the  Con- 
ferences. It  was  nevertheless  a  law  of  the  Church.  The  law 
had  been  a  dead  letter  for  nearly  two  years.  Practically  dead 
for  that  time,  now  at  the  General  Conference  of  1792  it 
actually  and  formally  ceased  to  be. 


•  Provision  was  made  for  holding  General  Conferences  in  the 
future,  the  time  and  place  of  the  next  General  Conference 
was  agreed  upon,  the  composition  of  the  body  was  settled,  and 
its  powers  were  determined.  The  law  relating  to  the  General 
Conference  adopted  and  placed  in  Section  III  of  the  Book  of 
Discipline  of  1792  is  as  follows :  y 

Quest.  2.  Who  shall  compose  the  General  Conference? 
Answ.  All  the  Traveling  Preachers  who  shall  be  in  full  connection 
at  the  time  of  holding  the  Conference. 

Quest.  3.  When  and  where  shall  the  next  General  Conference  be 


Answ.  On  the  1st  day  of  November,  in  the  year  1796,  in  the  town 
of  Baltimore. 

The  use  of  the  phrase  General  Conference  was  not  new. 
Thus  it  had  been  used  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  in  his  letter 
requesting  the  holding  of  a  General  Conference  in  1787,  and 
it  was  used  in  the  preamble  to  the  plan  for  the  Council;  but 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 


held? 


6 


Tin    (i>  /,<  ral  C  'nj,j\  re  ace. 


[17^2. 


heretofore  there  had  been  no  arrangement  in  the  law  for  the 
meeting  of  a  General  Conference  at  a  fixed  time.  The  action 
of  the  General  Conference  established  the  General  Conference 
as  a  fixed  institution  in  the  Church,  and  established  it  as  a 
quadrennial  meeting.  From  that  time  the  Quadrennial  Gen- 
eral Conference  became  a  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  economy. 
The  powers  of  this  General  Conference  were  fixed  definitely 
and  the  specifications  as  to  this  power  were  stated  in  different 
places  in  the  new  law. 

According  to  the  new  arrangement  the  supreme  executive 
control  of  the  Church  vested  in  the  General  Conference,  and 
the  power  to  make  laws  for  the  government  of  the  Church  was 
taken  from  the  annual  sessions  of  the  ministers  and  vested  in 
the  quadrennial  gathering  called  the  General  Conference,  the 
power  to  elect  bishops  was  likewise  centered  in  the  General 
Conference,  and  these  officers  were  made  amenable  to  that 
body,  and  in  addition  the  General  Conference  was  made  a 
court  of  appeal. 

PRESIDING  ELDERS. 

The  General  Conference  fully  recognized  and  defined  the 
office  of  a  Presiding  Elder.  Presiding  Elders  de  facto  had  ex- 
isted from  the  beginning  of  the  Church,  and  the  title  appears 
in  the  plan  for  the  Council  published  in  1789;  but  the  General 
Conference  of  1792  formally  adopted  the  title  for  these  super- 
visory officers,  and  distinguished  between  the  functions  of  a 
plain  elder  and  the  Presiding  Elder,  who  was  to  have  the 
supervision  of  a  District,  and  the  preachers  therein  contained. 
In  doing  so,  the  Conference  adopted  a  new  section  (Section  V), 
"Of  the  Presiding  Elders,  and  of  their  Duty,"  as  follows: 

Quest.  1.  By  whom  are  the  Presiding  Elders  to  be  chosen? 

Answ.  By  the  Bishop 

Quest.  2.  What  are  the  duties  of  the  Presiding  Elder? 
Answ.  1.  To  travel  through  his  appointed  District. 

2.  In  the  absence  of  a  Bishop,  to  take  charge  of  all  the  Elders, 
Deacons,  Traveling  and  Local  Preachers,  and  Exhorters  in  his  Dis- 
trict. 

3.  To  change,  receive,  or  suspend  Preachers  in  his  District  during 
the  intervals  of  the  Conferences,  and  in  the  absence  of  the  Bishop. 

4.  In  the  absence  of  a  Bishop,  to  preside  in  the  Conference  of  his 
District. 


17U2.] 


The  General  Conference. 


7 


5.  To  be  present,  as  far  as  practicable,  at  all  the  Quarterly 
Meetings;  and  to  call  together  at  each  Quarterly  Meeting  all  the 
Traveling  and  Local  Preachers,  Exhorters,  Stewards  and  Leaders,  of 
the  Circuit,  to  hear  complaints,  and  to  receive  Appeals. 

6  To  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Societies 
in  his  District. 

JjL.7.  To  take  care  that  every  part  of  our  Discipline  be  enforced  in 
his  District. 

8.  To  attend  the  Bishop  when  present  in  his  District ;  and  to  give 
him  when  absent  all  necessary  information,  by  letter,  of  the  state  of 
his  District. 

Quest.  3.  By  whom  are  the  Presiding  Elders  to  be  stationed  and 
changed? 

Answ.  By  the  Bishop. 

Quest.  4.  How  long  may  the  Bishop  allow  an  Elder  to  preside  in 
the  same  District? 

Answ.  For  any  term  not  exceeding  four  years  successively. 

Quest.  5.  How  shall  the  Presiding  Elders  be  supported? 

Answ.  If  there  be  a  surplus  of  public  money,  in  one  or  more 
Circuits  in  his  District,  he  shall  receive  such  surplus,  provided  he  do 
not  receive  more  than  his  annual  Salary.  In  case  of  a  deficiency  in 
his  Salary,  after  such  surplus  is  paid  him,  or  if  there  be  no  surplus, 
he  shall  share  with  the  Preachers  of  his  District,  in  proportion  with 
what  they  have  respectively  received,  so  that  he  receive  no  more 
than  the  amount  of  his  Salary  upon  the  whole. 

DISTRICT  CONFERENCES. 

The  General  Conference  decided  upon  the  title  of  District 
Conference  for  the  Annual  Conferences  of  the  ministers  in 
different  sections  of  the  country.  Before  they  were  simply 
spoken  of  as  the  "Conference"  or  "Conferences,"  but  now  as 
the  title  General  Conference  was  fixed  upon  for  the  quadren- 
nial body,  it  was  necessary  to  distinguish  the  annual  meetings 
by  a  special  name,  and  hence  "District  Conference"  was 
selected. 

The  General  Conference  determined  the  boundaries,  the 

membership,  and  the  business  of  the  District  Conference. 

The  Presiding  Elder's  District  was  the  basis  of  the  District 

Conference,  but  it  might  be  composed  of  a  number  of  districts. 

The  law  covering  the  District  Conferences  was  placed  in 

Section  III  of  the  Discipline  of  1792,  as  follows: 

Quest.  4.  Who  are  the  members  of  the  District  Conferences? 
Answ.  All  the  Traveling  Preachers  of  the  District  or  Districts 
respectively,  who  are  in  full  connexion. 


8 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


Quest.  5.  How  often  are  the  District  Conferences  to  be  held? 
Answ.  Annually. 

Quest.  6.  How  ninny  Circuits  shall  send  Preachers  in  order  to 
form  a  District  Conference? 

Answ.  Not  fewer  than  three,  nor  more  than  twelve. 

Quest.  7.  Shall  the  Bishop  be  authorized  to  unite  two  or  more 
Districts  together,  where  he  judges  it  expedient,  in  order  to  form  a 
District  Conference? 

Answ.  He  shall,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  rule  imme- 
diately preceding. 

Quest.  8.  Who  shall  appoint  the  times  of  holding  the  District 
Conferences  ? 

Answ.  The  Bishop. 

Quest.  9.  What  is  the  method  wherein  we  usually  proceed  in  the 
District  Conferences? 
Answ.  We  inquire, 

1.  What  Preachers  are  admitted  on  trial? 

2.  Who  remain  on  trial? 

3.  Who  are  admitted  into  full  connexion? 

4.  Who  are  the  Deacons? 

5.  Who  are  the  Elders? 

6.  Who  have  been  elected  by  the  unanimous  suffrages  of  the 
General  Conference  to  exercise  the  Episcopal  Office,  and  superintend 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America? 

7.  Who  are  under  a  Location,  through  weakness  of  body,  or 
family  concerns? 

8.  Who  are  the  Supernumeraries? 

9.  Who  have  died  this  year? 

10.  Are  all  the  Preachers  blameless  in  life  and  conversation? 

11.  Who  are  expelled  from  the  connexion? 

12.  Where  are  the  Preachers  stationed  this  year? 

13.  What  numbers  are  in  Society? 

14.  What  has  been  collected  for  the  contingent  expenses? 

15.  How  has  this  been  expended? 

16.  What  is  contributed  towards  the  fund  for  the  Superannuated 
Preachers,  and  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  the  Preachers? 

17.  What  demands  are  there  upon  it? 

18.  Where  and  when  shall  our  next  Conference  be  held? 

Quest.  10.  Is  there  any  other  business  to  be  done  in  the  District 
Conferences? 

Answ.  The  Electing  and  Ordaining  of  Elders  and  Deacons. 

Quest.  11.  How  are  the  Districts  to  be  formed? 

Answ.  According  to  the  judgment  of  the  Bishop. 

N.  B. — In  case  that  there  be  no  Bishop  to  travel  through  the  Dis- 
tricts and  exercise  the  Episcopal  Office,  on  account  of  death,  the 
Districts  shall  be  regulated  in  every  respect  by  the  District  Confer- 
ences and  the  Presiding  Elders  till  the  ensuing  General  Conference, 
(Ordinations  only  excepted.) 


1792.J  The  General  Conference.  9 

SUPERNUMERARY  PREACHERS. 

To  this  section  was  appended  a  foot-note  defining  a  Super- 
numerary Preacher.    It  read : 

A  Supernumerary  Preacher  is  one  so  worn  out  in  the  Itinerant 
service  as  to  be  rendered  incapable  of  preaching  constantly ;  but  at 
the  same  time  is  willing  to  do  any  work  in  the  ministry  which  the 
Conference  may  direct  and  his  strength  enable  him  to  perform. 

THE  EPISCOPACY. 

The  General  Conference  of  1792  made  various  changes  in 
regard  to  the  Episcopacy,  but  the  key  to  nearly  all  these 
modifications  was  in  the  creation  of  the  Quadrennial  General 
Conference.  Before  this,  a  Bishop  could  be  elected  by  "a 
majority  of  the  Conference,"  but  under  the  new  law  a  Bishop 
must  be  elected  by  the  General  Conference.  Under  the  old 
law  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  one  Bishop  was  sufficient,, 
but  according  to  the  new  regulation  it  required  three  Bishops, 
or  at  least  one  Bishop*  and  two  Elders;  but  it  was  further 
provided  that  when  there  was  no  Bishop  the  new  Bishop  should 
be  set  apart  by  Elders  selected  for  that  purpose  by  the  General 
Conference.  The  duties  and  limitations  of  the  Bishopric  were 
more  carefully  stated.  Now  the  Bishop  was  "  to  travel  through 
the  connexion  at  large,"  instead  of  traveling  "  through  as 
many  circuits  as  he  can."  A  Bishop  was  to  be  amenable  to 
the  General  Conference,  and  provision  was  made  for  the  trial 
of  a  Bishop  during  the  interval  between  two  General  Confer- 
ences, and  this  court  was  to  have  power  to  suspend  a  Bishop 
until  the  next  session  of  the  General  Conference. 

The  law  as  amended  by  the  General  Conference  was  as 
follows : 

THE  MAKING  OF  BISHOPS  AND  THEIR  DUTY. 

Section  IV. — Of  the  Election  and  Consecration  of  Bishops,  and 
of  their  Duty. 

Quest.  1.  How  is  a  Bishop  to  be  constituted  in  future? 

Answ.  By  the  election  of  the  General  Conference,  and  the  lay- 
ing on  of  the  hands  of  three  Bishops,  or  at  least  of  one  Bishop  and 
two  Elders. 

Quest.  2.  If  by  death,  expulsion,  or  otherwise,  there  be  no  Bishop 
remaining  in  our  Church,  what  shall  we  do? 

Ansiv.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  Bishop;  and  the 
Elders,  or  any  three  of  them,  that  shall  be  appointed  by  the  General 


10 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


Conference  for  that  purpose,  shall  ordain  him  according  to  our  Office 

of  Ordination. 

Quest.  3.  What  is  the  Bishop's  duty? 
Answ.  1.  To  preside  In  our  Conferences. 

2.  To  fix  the  appointments  of  the  Preachers  for  the  several 
Circuits. 

3.  In  the  intervals  of  the  Conferences,  to  change,  receive,  or  sus- 
pend Preachers,  as  necessity  may  require. 

4.  To  travel  through  the  connexion  at  large. 

5.  To  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  Societies. 

6.  To  ordain  Bishops,  Elders,  and  Deacons. 

Quest.  4.  To  whom  is  a  Bishop  amenable  for  his  conduct? 

Answ.  To  the  General  Conference,  who  have  power  to  expel  him 
for  improper  conduct,  if  they  see  it  necessary. 

Quest.  5.  What  provision  shall  be  made  for  the  trial  of  an  immoral 
Bishop,  in  the  interval  of  the  General  Conference? 

Answ.  If  a  Bishop  be  guilty  of  immorality,  three  Traveling 
Elders  shall  call  upon  him,  and  examine  him  on  the  subject ;  and  if 
the  three  Elders  verily  believe  that  the  Bishop  is  guilty  of  the  crime, 
they  shall  call  to  their  aid  two  Presiding  Elders  from  two  Districts  in 
the  neighborhood  of  that  where  the  crime  was  committed,  each  of 
which  Presiding  Elders  shall  bring  with  him  two  Elders,  or  an  Elder 
and  a  Deacon.  The  above  mentioned  nine  persons  shall  form  a  Con- 
ference, to  examine  into  the  charge  brought  against  the  Bishop ;  and 
if  two-thirds  of  them  verily  believe  him  to  be  guilty  of  the  crime 
laid  to  his  charge,  they  shall  have  authority  to  suspend  the  Bishop  till 
the  ensuing  General  Conference,  and  the  Districts  shall  be  regulated 
in  the  meantime  as  is  provided  in  the  case  of  the  death  of  a  Bishop. 

Quest.  6.  If  the  Bishop  cease  from  traveling  at  large  among  the 
people,  shall  he  still  exercise  his  Office  among  us  in  any  degree? 

Answ.  If  he  cease  from  traveling  without  the  consent  of  the 
General  Conference,  he  shall  not  thereafter  exercise  any  ministerial 
function  whatsoever  in  our  Church. 

N.  B. — The  Bishop  has  obtained  liberty,  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
Conference,  to  ordain  Local  Preachers  to  the  Office  of  Deacons,  pro- 
vided they  obtain  a  testimonial  from  the  Society  to  which  they  belong, 
and  from  the  Stewards  of  the  Circuity  signed  also  by  three  Elders, 
three  Deacons,  and  three  Traveling  Preachers. 

TRAVELING  ELDERS. 
With  the  full  recognition  of  two  classes  of  Elders — namely, 
those  who  possessed  the  orders  of  an  Elder  and  those  Elders 
who  held  the  office  of  Presiding  Elder — the  General  Conference 
found  it  necessary  carefully  to  define  the  duties  of  each  class, 
and  therefore  made  two  sections,  one  defining  the  official  duties 
of  a  Presiding  Elder,  and  another  defining  the  duties  of  the 
ordinary  Elders. 


1792.]  The  General  Conference. 


11 


It  was  now  provided  that  Elders  were  to  be  elected  by  the 
District  Conference  instead  of  "the  Conference."  In  contra- 
distinction to  the  Presiding  Elders  these  are  called  "Traveling 
Elders,"  and  the  specifications  which  related  to  the  official 
work  of  a  Presiding  Elder  were  taken  out  and  placed  in  the 
section  upon  the  Presiding  Eldership,  and  the  modified  law 
appeared  in  the  following  form : 

ELECTION,  ORDINATION,  AND  DUTY  OF  TRAVELING  /* 
ELDERS. 

Section  VI. — Of  the  Election  and  Ordination  of  Traveling  Elders, 
and  of  their  Duty. 

Quest.  1.  How  is  an  Elder  constituted? 

Answ.  By  the  election  of  a  majority  of  the  District  Conference, 
and  by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  a  Bishop,  and  of  the  Elders  that 
are  present. 

Quest.  2.  What  is  the  duty  of  a  Traveling  Elder? 

Answ.  1.  To  administer  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  to 
perform  the  office  of  matrimony,  and  all  parts  of  divine  worship. 

2.  To  do  all  the  duties  of  a  Traveling  Preacher. 

N.  B. — No  Elder  that  ceases  to  travel  without  the  consent  of  the 
District  Conference,  certified  under  the  hand  of  the  President  of  the 
Conference,  shall  on  any  account  exercise  the  peculiar  functions  of 
his  office  amongst  us. 

TRAVELING  DEACONS. 

The  title  of  the  Deacons  who  were  members  of  the  District 
Conferences  was  changed  to  Traveling  Deacons,  in  order  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  Local  Preachers,  who  had  Deacons' 
orders.  Instead  of  being  elected  by  "the  Conference,"  they 
were  now  to  be  elected  by  the  "District  Conference."  The 
old  duty  of  a  Deacon,  "To  see  that  the  other  Preachers  in  his  ) 
circuit  behave  well,  and  want  nothing,"  was  taken  out  of  the  f 
special  duties  of  a  Deacon  and  is  made  the  duty  of  any 
Preacher  who  has  charge  of  a  circuit,  but  the  Traveling 
Deacon  is  to  perform  "all  the  duties  of  a  Traveling  Preacher." 
With  these  changes  the  new  law  read : 

ELECTION,  ORDINATION,  AND  DUTY  OF  TRAVELING 
DEACONS. 

Section  VII. — Of  the  Election  and  Ordination  of  Traveling  Beacons, 
and  of  their  Duty. 

Quest.  1.  How  is  a  Traveling  Deacon  constituted? 

Answ.  By  the  election  of  the  majority  of  the  District  Confer- 
ence, and  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  a  Bishop. 


L2 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


Quest.  2.  What  is  the  duty  of  a  Traveling  Deacon? 
Answ.  1.  To  baptize,  and  perform  the  office  of  matrimony,  in  the 
absence  of  the  Elder. 

2.  To  assist  the  Elder  in  administering  the  Lord's  Supper. 

3.  To  do  all  the  duties  of  a  Traveling  Preacher. 

N.  B. — No  Deacon  that  ceases  to  travel  without  the  consent  of  the 
District  Conference,  certified  under  the  hand  of  the  President  of  the 
Conference,  shall  on  any  account  exercise  the  peculiar  functions  of 
his  office. 

ADMISSION  OF  PREACHERS  INTO  THE  DISTRICT 
CONFERENCE. 

The  law  relating  to  the  admission  of  Preachers  into  the 
regular  ministry  in  the  Conference  was  revised  in  several  par- 
ticulars. Before  the  Preacher  was  to  be  received  by  "the 
Conference,"  now  he  is  to  be  received  "by  the  District  Con- 
ference." Under  the  old  form  he  could  be  received  tempo- 
rarily by  "the  Bishop,  or  an  Elder,  until  the  sitting  of  the 
Conference,"  but  now  it  was  to  be  "by  the  Bishop,  or  Presid- 
ing Elder  of  the  District,  until  the  sitting  of  the  Conference," 
and  according  to  the  former  law  the  "written  license"  was  to 
be  "from  his  Elder  or  Bishop,"  now  it  was  to  be  "from  the 
Bishop  or  Presiding  Elder." 

THE  METHOD  OF  RECEIVING  PREACHERS,  AND  THEIR 

DUTY. 

The  revised  law  appears  as 

Section  VIII. — Of  the  Method  of  receiving  Preachers,  and  of  their 
Duty. 

Quest.  1.  How  is  a  Preacher  to  be  received? 
Answ.  1.  By  the  District  Conference. 

2.  In  the  interval  of  the  Conference,  by  the  Bishop,  or  Presiding 
Elder  of  the  District,  until  the  sitting  of  the  Conference. 

3.  When  his  name  is  not  printed  in  the  Minutes,  he  must  receive 
a  written  license  from  the  Bishop  or  Presiding  Elder. 

As  to  the  succeeding  portion  of  the  section  on  the  duties 
of  a  Preacher  various  modifications  were  made. 

The  old  duty  "To  meet  the  Leaders"  is  taken  out  and  else- 
where made  the  duty  of  those  in  charge  of  Circuits,  for  all 
Preachers  were  not  in  charge,  and  therefore  would  not  have 
this  responsibility.    The  former  question  and  answer:  "Are 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


13 


the  Preachers  to  read  our  Liturgy?"  Answ.  "All  that  have 
received  a  written  direction  for  that 'purpose,  under  the  hand 
of  a  Bishop  or  Elder,  may  read  the  Liturgy  as  often  as  they 
think  it  expedient,"  were  stricken  out.  The  Sunday  service, 
which  had  been  prepared  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  and  had 
been  adopted,  and  for  years  used  by  the  Church,  had  fallen 
into  disuse.  To  meet  this  fact,  another  provision  was  inserted 
in  a  later  section. 

An  entirely  new  regulation  in  regard  to  receiving  Preachers 
as  probationers  in  the  Conference  was  inserted  as  follows : 

"But  no  one  shall  be  received,  unless  he  first  procure  a 
recommendation  from  the  Quarterly  Meeting  of  his  Circuit." 

RECEPTION  INTO  CONFERENCE  MEMBERSHIP. 

The  old  law:  "After  two  years'  probation,  being  recom- 
mended by  the  Elders  and  Deacons  present,  and  examined  by 
the  Bishop,  he  may  be  received  into  full  connection,  by  giving  "  / 
him  the  form  of  discipline,  inscribed  thus :  "  As  long  as  you  freely 
consent  to,  and  earnestly  endeavor  to  walk  by  these  rules,  we  shall  re- 
joice to  acknowledge  you  as  a  fellow-laborer  "  was  changed  to  read: 
"After  two  years'  probation,  being  approved  by  the  District 
Conference,  and  examined  by  the  President  of  the  Conference, 
he  may  be  received  into  full  connexion,  by  giving  him  the 
form  of  discipline,"  etc. 

The  "N.  B."  which  had  appeared  at  the  close  of  the  old 
section  was  modified,  and  in  its  new  form  was  carried  to  the 
end  of  the  new  "  Section  X."  In  the  Discipline  of  1791  it  read : 
"N\  B. — Let  none,  who  are  local,  preach  or  exhort  in  any  of 
our  Societies  without  a  note  of  permission  from  the  Deacon : 
Let  every  local  Preacher  or  Exhorter  take  care  to  have  this 
renewed  yearly:  and  let  every  Elder  insist  upon  it."  The 
General  Conference  of  1792  substituted  for  this  at  the  end  of 
Section  VIII:  "  N".  B. — If  any  Preacher  absent  himself  from 
his  Circuit  without  the  leave  of  the  Presiding  Elder,  the 
Presiding  Elder  shall,  as  far  as  possible,  fill  his  place  with 
another  Preacher,  who  shall  be  paid  for  his  labors  out  of  the 
salary  of  the  absent  Preacher  in  proportion  to  the  usual 
allowance." 


14 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


COLLECTIONS. 

The  law  of  1791,  in  regard  to  collections,  had  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Que.it.  1.  How  many  collections  are  to  be  made  in  a  year? 

Answ.  1.  A  quarterly  collection  from  the  members  of  the  society, 
to  supply  the  Preachers;  and  when  that  is  deficient,  a  public 
quarterly  collection:  If  there  be  any  overplus,  let  one  third  of  it  be 
reserved  for  future  deficiencies;  one  third  be  given  to  the  poor  in 
general;  and  one  third  applied  to  the  building  or  improving  of  our 
churches.  If  there  is  money  left  in  the  hands  of  the  stewards  at 
the  close  of  the  year,  let  it  be  sent  to  the  Conference. 

2.  A  yearly  collection  from  all  our  members  that  are  of  ability, 
for  the  building  of  convenient  churches. 

3.  A  collection,  at  love-feasts  and  on  sacramental  occasions,  for 
the  poor  of  our  own  society. 

4.  An  annual  collection  or  subscription  for  the  college. 

5.  An  annual  public  collection  for  the  contingencies  of  the  Con- 
ference ;  which  shall  be  applied, 

1.  To  discharge  the  deficiencies  of  those  Preachers  who  shall  not 
have  received  their  full  salary  in  their  circuits;  and, 

2.  To  defray  the  expenses  of  our  missions  to  distant  parts  of  the 
continent. 

This  disappears  as  a  formulation  here,  or  in  anyone  place, 
but  some  of  its  points  in  other  forms  were  placed  in  other 
parts  of  the  Discipline  for  1792. 

SALARIES  OF  PREACHERS. 

The  substance  of  the  remaining  part  of  the  old  Section  VII 
appears  in  "Section  IX:  Of  the  Salaries  of  the  Ministers  and 
Preachers." 

In  the  place  of  the  old  Section  VII,  the  Discipline  of  1792 
has  "Section  IX.  Of  the  Salaries  of  the  Ministers  and 
Preachers."  This  marks  a  distinction  between  ministers  and 
preachers!  The  distinction  between  the  classes  thus  indicated 
is  not  difficult  to  ascertain.  The  minister  was  a  member  of 
the  District  Conference  and  was  in  orders.  The  preacher  had 
authority  to  preach,  but  he  was  not  a  member  of  the  District 
Conference.  He  might  be  a  probationer  in  connection  with 
the  Conference,  or  merely  a  local  preacher  with  a  license,  or 
he  might  even  be  a  local  preacher  with  orders. 

Under  this  heading  the  second  question  of  Section  VII  of 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


15 


1791  becomes  the  first  question  of  Section  IX  in  1702.  In 
1791  the  question  read:  "Quest.  2.  What  is  the  regular  an- 
nual salary  of  the  Bishops,  Elders,  Deacons,  and  Preachers'.-'" 
The  question  as  it  appears  in  the  Discipline  of  1702,  under  the 
new  section,  is:  "Quest.  1.  What  is  the  annual  salary  of  the 
Bishops,  Elders,  Deacons,  and  Preachers?  "  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  word  "regular"  was  dropped.  This  suggests  the 
probable  fact  that  they  did  not  regularly  receive  even  the 
small  amount  specified. 

The  answer  in  1791  was:  "Twenty-four  pounds  Pennsyl- 
vania currency,  and  their  traveling  expenses."  In  1792  it  was 
changed  to  read:  "  Answ.  Sixty-four  dollars,  and, their  travel- 
ing expenses." 

The  former  "Quest.  3.  What  shall  be  annually  allowed  the 
wives  of  the  married  Preachers?"  becomes  the  second  question 
in  the  new  section;  but  the  former  answer:  "Twenty-four 
pounds  Pennsylvania  currency,  if  they  are  in  want  of  it," 
was  made  to  read:  "Answ.  Sixty-four  dollars,  if  they  want  < 
it."  This  took  into  consideration  the  financial  condition  of 
the  wife. 

In  1792  a  new  question  and  a  new  answer  were  introduced, 
namely : 

Quest.  3.  What  plan  shall  we  pursue  in  appropriating  the  money 
received  by  our  Traveling  Ministers  for  Marriage  fees? 

Answ.  In  all  the  Circuits  where  the  Preachers  do  not  receive 
their  full  Quarterage,  let  all  such  money  be  given  into  the  hands  of 
the  Stewards,  and  be  equally  divided  between  the  Traveling  Preachers 
of  the  Circuit.  In  all  other  cases  the  money  shall  be  disposed  of  at 
the  discretion  of  the  District  Conference. 

Prior  to  this  the  preachers  were  not  permitted  to  receive 
any  money  for  performing  the  marriage  ceremony. 

The  closing  paragraph  of  the  old  section  was  eliminated. 
It  read:  "N.  B. — That  no  Ministers  or  Preachers,  traveling  or 
local,  shall  receive  any  support,  either  in  money  or  other  pro- 
vision, for  their  services,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Stewards 
of  the  Circuits,  and  its  being  properly  entered  quarterly  on 
the  books."  The  following  was  substituted  at  the  end  of  the 
new  section  of  1792:  "  N.  B. — No  Minister  or  Preacher  what- 
soever shall  receive  any  money  for  deficiencies^  or  cm  any  other  I 
account,  out  of  any  of  our  funds  or  collections,  without  first 


16 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


giving  an  exact  account  of  all  the  money,  clothes,  and  other 
presents  of  every  kind,  which  he  has  received  the  preceding 
year."  The  purpose  of  this  was  evidently  to  secure  equality 
of  support. 

PREACHERS  IN  CHARGE. 

"  Section  X  "  of  the  Discipline  of  1792  has  a  new  heading, 
namely,  "  Of  the  Duties  of  those  who  have  the  Charge  of 
Circuits;"  but  it  contains  much  of  "  Section  VI"  of  the 
Discipline  of  1791,  the  title  of  which  was:  "Of  the  Method 
of  receiving  Preachers,  and  their  Duty,"  though  there  are 
variations.  It  also  contains  matter  from  "  Section  V  "  of  1701, 
the  title  of  which  was:  "Of  the  constituting  of  Deacons,  and 
their  Duty." 

Under  the  act  of  the  General  Conference  of  1792  the 
person  in  charge  of  a  Circuit  might  be  a  preacher  without  as 
well  as  with  orders,  and  not  simply  a  Deacon.  Consequently, 
in  this  section  of  1792  there  appears:  "Quest.  1.  "What  are 
the  duties  of  the  Elder,  Deacon,  or  Preacher  who  has  the 
special  charge  of  a  Circuit?" 

The  first  answer  is  the  same  as  Answer  3  of  Question  2,  in 
Section  V  of  1791.  The  second  answer  is  the  same  as  Answer 
4  under  the  same  question  of  1791.  Answer  3,  "To  meet  the 
Stewards  and  Leaders  as  often  as  possible,"  is  partly  new  and 
partly  an  expansion  of  Answer  4  of  Question  2,  Section  VI  of 
1791,  "To  meet  the  Leaders."  Answer  4,  "To  appoint  all 
the  Stewards  and  Leaders,  and  change  them  when  he  sees  it 
necessary,"  is  the  same  as  Answer  5  of  Question  2,  Section  V 
of  1791.  Answer  5,  "To  receive,  try,  and  expel  members 
according  to  the  form  of  discipline,"  is  new  as  a  formal  answer, 
though  in  1791  there  was  a  section  on  "  Bringing  to  Trial, 
finding  guilty,  reproving,  suspending,  and  excluding  disorderly 
persons  from  Society  and  Church  Privileges." 

Answer  6  is  the  same  as  Answer  6  of  Section  V  of  1791. 
Answer  7,  "To  hold  Quarterly  Meetings  in  the  absence  of  the 
Presiding  Elder,"  takes  the  place  of  Answer  7,  Question  2, 
Section  V  of  1791,  which  read:  "To  hold  Quarterly  Meetings 
and  therein  diligently  to  enquire  both  into  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  state  of  each  Society."     Now  the  Presiding  Elder  is 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


17 


to  hold  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  if  he  is  present,  and  so  the  old 
duty  of  inquiring  as  to  the  state  of  the  Society  passes  to  that 
officer. 

'  Answer  8  is  the  same  as  Answer  8  of  Question  2  of  Section 

V  of  1791,  with  the  exception  that  certain  specifications  are 
eliminated.  In  1701  the  answer  read:  "To  take  care  that 
every  Society  be  duly  supplied  with  books ;  particularly  with 
the  Saints'  Rest,  Instructions  for  Children,  and  the  Primitive 
Physic ;  which  ought  to  be  in  every  house."  The  revised  an- 
swer ended  with  the  word  "books." 

Answer  9  is  the  same  as.  the  corresponding  9  in  the  old 
Section  V  of  1791.  Answer  10  is  the  same  as  Answer  10 
under  Question  2  in  Section  V  of  1791,  only  that  "Presiding 
Elder  "is  substituted  for  "Elder."  Answer  11  is  the  same  as 
11  of  Section  V  of  1791,  "To  meet  the  men  and  women  apart 
in  the  large  Societies  once  a  quarter,"  but  with  the  addition  of 
the  words  "wherever  practicable." 

Answer  12  is  the  same  as  the  corresponding  answer  12  in 
Section  V  of  1791.    Answer  13  is  the  same  as  the  13  of  Section 

V  of  1791,  namely,  "To  appoint  a  person  to  receive  the  quar- 
terly collection  in  the  classes,  and  to  be  present  at  the  time  of 
receiving  it,"  only  that  the  closing  part,  "and  to  be  present  at 
the  time  of  receiving  it,"  was  omitted.  Answer  14  is  the 
same  as  the  corresponding  14  of  the  same  Section  of  1791. 

Answer  15  is  the  former  15  expanded.  In  1791  it  read: 
"To  move  a  yearly  subscription  through  these  Circuits  that 
can  bear  it,  for  building  Churches."  In  1792  it  read:  "To 
raise  a  yearly  subscription  in  those  Circuits,  that  can  bear  it, 
for  building  Churches,  and  paying  the  debts  of  those  which 
have  been  already  erected." 

Answer  16  is  the  same  as  the  former  16,  except  that  the 
old-fashioned  spelling  "chuse"  gives  way  to  the  better  form 
"  choose." 

Question  3  of  1792  is  the  same  as  the  former  Quest.  3  of 
Section  V  of  1791,  "What  other  directions  shall  we  give  the 
Deacons?"  excepting  that  "the  Deacons"  is  taken  out  and 
the  word  "him,"  that  is  to  say,  the  Preacher  in  charge,  is  in- 
serted. 

The  general  "Answ.  Several"  is  the  same  in  1792  as  in 


18 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


1791,  and  the  specifications  under  the  "several"  are  mainly 
the  same.  The  first,  second,  and  third,  and  some  others  are 
exactly  the  same,  excepting  that  "  To"  is  prefixed.  Thus  the 
old  form  had:  "  1.  Take  a  regular  catalogue  of  the  Societies 
in  towns  and  cities,  as  they  live  in  streets,"  is  made  to  read: 
"To  take  a  regular  catalogue,"  etc. 

Answer  4,  which  read,  ■  "Vigorously,  but  calmly,  enforce 
the  rules   concerning  needless   ornaments  and  drams,"  La 
changed  to  read:  "To  enforce  vigorously,  but  calmly,  all  the. 
rules  of  the  Society." 

Answers  5  and  6  are  exactly  the  same  as  the  old  form,  with 
the  exception  that  to  each  the  word  "To"  is  prefixed. 
Answer  7  is  essentially  the  same  as  the  former  7  in  regard  to 
the  issuing  of  certificates  of  membership,  but  "warn"  is 
made  to  read  "To  warn,"  and  instead  of  "a  note  of  recom- 
mendation from  the  Elder  or  Deacon,"  it  is  changed  to  read 
"from  a  Preacher  of  the  Circuit."  Answer  8  is  the  same  as 
the  8  of  the  former  Discipline,  with  a  very  slight  change  in 
the  phrasing.  In  1791  it  was:  "Everywhere  recommend  de- 
cency and  cleanliness."  In  1792  it  became:  "To  recommend 
everywhere  decency  and  cleanliness." 

Answer  9  is  the  former  9  slightly  modified.  In  1791  it  was : 
"  Read  the  rules  of  the  Society,  with  the  aid  of  the  Preachers, 
once  a  year,  in  every  congregation,  and  once  a  quarter  in  every 
Society."  The  General  Conference  of  1792  made  it  read: 
"To  read  the  rules  of  the  Society,  with  the  aid  of  the  other 
Preachers,  once  a  year  in  every  congregation,  and  once  a 
quarter  in  every  Society." 

Answer  10,  concerning  arbitration,  was  made  more  specific 
than  the  old  answer  10.  The  form  in  1791  was:  "  On  any 
dispute  between  two  or  more  members  of  our  Society,  which 
can  not  be  settled  by  the  parties  concerned,"  etc.  In  1792  it 
was  changed,  so  as  to  read:  "  On  any  dispute  between  two  or 
more  members  of  our  Society,  concerning  the  payment  of 
debts  or  otherwise,"  etc. 

Following  the  tenth  answer  in  1791  was  a  "N.  B."  which 
read:  "If  any  member  of  our  Society  enter  into  a  lawsuit 
with  another  member  before  these  measures  are  taken,  he 
shall  be  expelled."    The  General  Conference  of  1792  took  out 


1792.J 


The  General  Conference, 


the  "N.  B.*"  and  added  to  answer  10  the  following:  "And 
if  any  member  of  our  Society  shall  refuse,  in  cases  of  debt  or 
other  disputes,  to  refer  the  matter  to  arbitration,  when  recom- 
mended by  him  who  has  the  charge  of  the  Circuit,  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Stewards  and  Leaders;  or  shall  enter  into 
a  lawsuit  with  another  member  before  these  measures  are 
taken,  he  shall  be  expelled." 

The  eleventh  answer  is  a  slight  modification  of  the  fifth 
answer  of  Section  XVII  of  1791.  There  it  was:  "Wherever 
you  can  in  large  Societies  appoint  prayer-meetings. "  In  1792 
the  substance  of  this  was  inserted  as  answer  11  in  this  Section, 
but  slightly  modified  in  phraseology,  as  follows:  "The 
Preacher,  who  has  the  charge  of  a  Circuit,  shall  appoint 
prayer-meetings  wherever  he  can  in  his  Circuit."  So  answer 
12  of  1792  is  a  modified  transposition  of  the  closing  paragraph, 
of  Section  XVII  of  1791.  Then  it  was:  "  Lastly,  let  a  fast  be 
published  at  every  Quarterly  Meeting  for  the  Friday  following; 
and  a  memorandum  of  it  be  written  on  all  the  Class  Papers." 
The  General  Conference  of  1792  inserted  it  as  answer  12,  in 
this  form:  "  He  shall  take  care  that  a  Fast  be  held  in  every 
Society  in  his  Circuit,  on  the  Friday  preceding  every  Quar- 
terly Meeting ;  and  that  a  memorandum  of  it  be  written  on  all 
the  Class  Papers." 

The  "  N.  B."  at  the  end  of  Section  VI  of  1791  was  en- 
larged and  otherwise  modified,  and  in  the  new  form  inserted 
as  answer  13  of  this  Section  of  1792.  Before  it  read :  "X.  B. — 
Let  none,  who  are  local,  preach  or  exhort  in  any  of  our  Socie- 
ties without  a  note  of  permission  from  the  Deacon ;  let  every 
Local  Preacher  or  Exhorter  take  care  to  have  this  renewed 
yearly;  and  let  every  Elder  insist  upon  it."  As  answer  13  of 
the  present  Section  of  1792  it  read:  "He  shall  take  care 
that  no  unordained  Local  Preacher  or  Exhorter  in  his  Circuit 
shall  officiate  in  public,  without  first  obtaining  a  License  from 
the  Presiding  Elder  or  himself.  Let  every  unordained 
Local  Preacher  and  Exhorter  take  care  to  have  this  renewed 
yearly;  and  let  him  who  has  the  charge  of  the  Circuit  in- 
sist upon  it," 


20 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


THE  CALL  TO  PREACH. 

Section  XI,  "Of  the  Trial  of  those,  who  think  they  are 
moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  preach,"  is  the  same  as  Section 
XII  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 

PREACHING. 

In  making  up  the  new  Section  XII,  the  General  Conference 
of  1702  used  the  matter  of  Section  XV  of  1791:  "Of  the 
Matter  and  Manner  of  Preaching,  and  of  other  public  Exer- 
cises."   There  are,  however,  a  few  variations. 

The  old  "Quest.  3.  Have  not  some  of  us  been  led  off  from 
practical  preaching  by  (what  is  called)  preaching  Christ?" 
was  stricken  out,  and  for  it  was  substituted:  "  Quest.  2.  What 
is  the  most  effectual  way  of  preaching  Christ?"  The  answer 
to  the  second  question  is  the  same  as  the  former  answer  to  the 
old  Question  3.  Question  2  of  1791  became  in  1792:  "Quest. 
3.  Are  there  any  smaller  advices  which  might  be  of  use  to  us?" 
In  the  main  the  answer  is  the  same,  but  there  are  some  modi- 
fications. The  second  item  of  the  old  answer  had:  "Begin 
precisely  at  the  time  appointed."  In  1792  the  word  "pre- 
cisely" was  omitted.  In  the  fifth,  "  chuse "  is  changed  to 
"choose."  In  the  eighth  the  old  form  was:  "  Print  nothing 
without  the  approbation  of  the  Conference,  and  one  of  the 
Bishops;"  but  the  General  Conference  of  1792  made  it  read : 
"  Print  nothing  without  the  approbation  of  the  Conference, 
or  of  one  of  the  Bishops."  All  the  other  specifications  in  this 
section  remained  as  before. 

THE  DUTY   OF  PREACHERS  TO  GOD,  THEMSELVES,  AND 
ONE  ANOTHER. 

Section  XIII  is  essentially  the  same  as  Section  X  of  the 
Discipline  of  1791,  with  the  title:  "  Of  the  Duty  of  Preachers 
to  God,  themselves,  and  one  another." 

There  are,  however,  some  changes.  In  1791  one  of  the 
sub-questions  in  the  answer  to  "Quest.  2"  was:  "Do  you 
punctually  observe  the  morning  and  evening  hour  of  retire- 
ment— viz.,  5  o'clock?"  In  1792  the  question  was  made  to  end 
with  the  word  "retirement" — "Do  you  punctually  observe 
the  morning  and  evening  hour  of  retirement?" 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


21 


The  Discipline  of  1791  had  as  a  division  of  "means  of 
grace,"  after  giving  "I.  The  instituted;"  "II.  Prudential 
means  we  may  use,  either  as  Christians,  as  Methodists,  as 
Preachers,  or  as  Ministers."  The  action  of  1792  struck  out 
the  words  "as  Ministers,"  and  inserted  the  word  "or"  before 
the  words  "as  Preachers,"  so  that  it  closed  with  "or  as 
Preachers."  This  consolidation  of  the  idea  of  ministers  and 
preachers  under  one  word  carried  with  it  the  consolidation  of 
the  old  items  "  3.  As  Ministers,"  and  "  4.  As  Preachers,"  in 
one  item:  "3.  As  Preachers."  In  the  second  division  under 
this  head  there  had  been  the  question:  "  Do  you  eat  no  flesh 
suppers?"  but  this  does  not  appear  in  the  Discipline  for  1792. 
In  the  fourth  item  (4)  under  the  question  as  to  self-denial  the 
word  "choose"  of  1791  becomes  "chuse"  in  1792— "(4.)  Do 
you  chuse  and  use  water  for  your  common  drink?  And  only 
take  wine  medicinally  or  sacramentally?" 

The  former  paragraph,  "  3.  Wherein  do'you  take  up  your 
cross  daily?  Do  you  cheerfully  bear  your  cross  (whatever  is 
grievous  to  nature)  as  a  gift  of  God,  and  labour  to  profit 
thereby?"  is  changed  in  1792  so  as  to  read:  "  Wherein  do  you 
take  up  your  cross  daily?  Do  you  cheerfully  bear  your  cross, 
however  grievous  to  nature,  as  a  gift  of  God,  and  labour  to 
profit  thereby?" 

RULES  FOR  CONTINUING  OR  DESISTING  FROM  PREACHING 
AT  ANY  PLACE. 

Section  XIV  of  1792,  entitled:  "  Rules  by  which  we  should 
continue,  or  desist  from,  Preaching  at  any  Place,"  is  precisely 
the  same  as  Section  XIV  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 

VISITING  FROM  HOUSE  TO  HOUSE. 

Section  XV  of  1792,  "  Of  visiting  from  House  to  House,  ^ 
guarding  against  those  Sins  that  are  so  common  to  Professors,  I 
and  enforcing  Practical  Religion,"  is  mainly  the  same  as  Sec-, 
tion  XXV  of  the  Discipline  of  1791.  There  are,  however, 
changes  of  more  or  less  moment.  Thus,  "  Faith  in  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ"  is  changed  to  "  Faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  Answer  5  to  the  third  question  had  closed  with  the 
following  injunction:  "  Extirpate  bribery,  receiving  any  thing 


22 


The  General  Conference. 


LI  792. 


directly  or  indirectly,  for  voting  at  any  election.  Shew  no 
respect  to  persons  herein,  bnt  expel  all  that  touch  the  accursed 
thing."  In  1702  to  this  exhortation  was  added  the  direction: 
"  And  strongly  advise  our  people  to  discontinue  all  treats 
given  by  candidates  before  or  at  elections,  and  not  be  partakers 
in  any  respect  of  such  iniquitous  practices." 

44  Quest.  4.  What  shall  we  do  to  prevent  scandal,  when  any 
of  our  members  fail  in  business  or  contract  debts  which  they 
are  not  able  to  pay?"  of  1791  is  the  same  in  1792,  but  there 
are  some  changes  in  the  answer.  In  1791  it  read:  "Let  the 
Elder  or  Deacon  desire  two  or  three  judicious  members  of  the 
society  to  inspect  the  accounts  of  the  supposed  delinquents ; 
and  if  they  have  behaved  dishonestly,  or  borrowed  money 
without  a  probability  of  paying,  let  them  be  suspended  until 
their  credit  is  restored."  In  1792,  "  Let  the  Elder  or  Deacon" 
was  changed  to  44  Let  him  who  has  charge  of  the  Circuit." 
The  plural  44  delinquents  "  is  changed  to  the  singular  "delin- 
quent," and  this  is  followed  by  the  necessary  grammatical 
changes  of  44  they"  into  44  he"  and  44  have"  into  44  has."  44Let 
them  be  suspended  until  their  credit  is  restored  "  was  stricken 
out,  and  44  Let  him  be  expelled"  was  inserted.  The  amended 
part  of  the  conclusion  then  read:  44  To  inspect  the  account  of 
the  supposed  delinquent,  and  if  he  has  behaved  dishonestly, 
or  borrowed  money  without  a  probability  of  paying,  let  him 
be  expelled." 

INSTRUCTION  OF  CHILDREN. 

Section  XVI,  with  the  title,  44  Of  the  Instruction  of  Chil- 
dren," is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  Section  XXVI  of  the 
Discipline  of  1791.  In  the  Discipline  for  1792  there  are, 
however,  eight  numbered  answers  instead  of  seven  as  in  1791; 
but  the  first  answer  in  the  new  Discipline  of  1792  was  in  the 
older  Discipline,  only  it  was  not  numbered.  In  1792  it  was 
made  4'Answ.  1."  and  the  numbering  of  the  other  answers 
was  changed  to  harmonize  with  that.  The  only  other  change 
was  the  insertion  of  the  word  44 and"  before  the  word  44  dili- 
gently" in  answer  6,  so  that  it  read:  44  And  diligently  instruct 
and  exhort  all  parents  at  their  own  houses." 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


23 


THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  TIME  PROFITABLY. 

Section  XVII  of -the  Discipline  of  1792,  entitled,  "  Of  em- 
ploying our  Time  profitably,  when  we  are  not  traveling,  or 
engaged  in  public  Exercises,"  is  the  Section  XVIII  of  the 
Discipline  with  some  modifications.  Thus  answer  3  to  question 
1  in  1791  read:  "From  six  in  the  morning  till  twelve  (allow- 
ing an  hour  for  breakfast),  read  in  order,  with  much  prayer, 
the  Christian  Library,  and  other  pious  books."  In  1792  the 
reading  " in  order "  Wesley's  "Christian  Library"  was  taken 
out  and  the  closing  part  became:  "read,  with  much  prayer, 
some  of  our  best  religious  tracts." 

In  the  answer  to  the  third  question,  "But  why. are  we  not 
more  knowing?"  the  portion  of  the  former  answer  which  read, 
"I  fear  there  is  altogether  a  fault  in  this  matter,  and  that  few 
of  us  are  clear,"  was  changed  to  the  plural,  "We  fear,"  etc., 
and  "Which  of  you  spends  as  many  hours  a  day  in  God's 
work,  as  you  did  formerly  in  man's  work,"  was  changed  to 
read:  "  Which  of  us  spends  as  many  hours  in  God's  work,  as 
he  did  formerly  in  man's  work?"    These  were  the  only  changes. 

THE  NECESSITY  OF  UNION. 

Section  XVIII  in  the  Discipline  of  1792— "Of  the  Neces- 
sity of  Union  among  ourselves,"  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as 
Section  XI  of  the  Discipline  of  1791.  In  the  latter,  however, 
the  question  was  numbered  1,  but  in  the  new  Discipline  the  1 
does  not  appear,  as  there  is  no  other  question.  The  only  other 
difference  is  a  note  which  was  appended  in  1792,  which  was  as 
follows:  "  N.  B. — We  recommend  a  serious  perusal  of  The 
Causes ,  Evils,  and  Cures  of  Heart  and  Church  Divisions." 

THE  TRIAL  OF  MINISTERS  OR  PREACHERS. 

Section  XIX  of  1792  corresponds  to  Section  XXXIII  of 
the  Discipline  of  1791.  The  heading  in  1791  was:  "Of  the 
Manner  by  which  immoral  Ministers  and  Preachers  shall  be 
brought  to  Trial,  found  guilty,  reproved,  and  suspended  in  the 
intervals  of  Conference."  In  1792  the  heading  became:  "  Of 
the  Method  by  which  immoral  Ministers  or  Preachers  shall  be 


24 


The  General  Conference. 


[.1792. 


brought  to  trial,  found  guilty,  and  reproved  or  suspended  in 
the  Intervals  of  the  Conferences." 

The  first  question  in  1791  was:  "Quest.  1.  What  shall  be 
done  when  an  Elder,  Deacon,  or  Preacher  is  under  the  report 
of  being  guilty  of  some  capital  crime,  expressly  forbidden  in 
the  word  of  God  as  an  unchristian  practice,  sufficient  to  ex- 
clude a  person  from  the  kingdom  of  grace  and  glory,  and  to 
make  him  a  subject  of  wrath  and  hell?"  This  was  changed  in 
a  single  particular — namely,  by  striking  out  the  word  "capital," 
so  that  instead  of  reading  "guilty  of  some  capital  crime,"  it 
read  "guilty  of  some  crime,  expressly  forbidden,"  etc. 

The  former  answer  read:  "  Let  the  Presiding  Elder  call  as 
many  Ministers  to  the  trial  as  he  shall  think  fit,  at  least  three, 
and  if  possible  bring  the  accused  and  accuser  face  to  face ;  if 
the  person  is  clearly  convicted,  he  shall  be  suspended  from 
official  services  in  the  Church,  and  not  be  allowed  the  privileges 
of  a  member.  But  if  the  accused  be  a  Presiding  Elder,  the 
Preachers  must  call  in  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  neighboring 
district,  who  is  required  to  attend  and  act  as  judge."  The 
General  Conference  of  1792  amended  this  so  as  to  make  it 
read:  "Let  the  Presiding  Elder,  in  the  absence  of  a  Bishop, 
call  as  many  Ministers  as  he  shall  think  fit,  at  least  three,  and 
if  possible  bring  the  accused  and  accuser  face  to  face.  If  the 
person  be  clearly  convicted,  he  shall  be  suspended  from  all 
official  services  in  the  Church  till  the  ensuing  District  Con- 
ference, at  which  his  case  shall  be  fully  considered  and  deter- 
mined. But  if  the  accused  be  a  Presiding  Elder,  the 
Preachers  must  call  in  the  Presiding  Elder  of  the  neighbor- 
ing District,  who  is  required  to  attend,  and  preside  at  the 
trial." 

In  1791  the  second  paragraph  of  the  answer  read:  "If  the 
persons  can  not  be  brought  face  to  face,  but  the  supposed 
delinquent  flees  from  trial,  it  shall  be  received  as  presumptive 
proof  of  guilt,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  wit- 
nesses he  shall  be  condemned.  Nevertheless,  he  may  demand 
a  trial  face  to  face,  or  he  may  appeal  to  the  next  Conference 
in  that  District."  This  was  changed  to  read  as  follows :  "If 
the  accused  and  accuser  can  not  be  brought  face  to  face,  but 
the  supposed  delinquent  flees  from  trial,  it  shall  be  received  as 


The  General  Conference. 


25 


a  presumptive  proof  of  guilt,  and  out  of  the  mouth  of  two  or 
three  witnesses  he  shall  be  condemned.  Nevertheless,  even  in 
that  case,  the  District  Conference  shall  reconsider  the  whole 
matter,  and  determine." 

The  second  question  of  1791:  "Quest.  2.  What  shall  be 
done  in  cases  of  improper  tempers,  words,  or  actions,  or  a 
breach  of  the  articles  and  Discipline  of  the  Church?"  was,  in 
1792,  divided  into  two  questions. 

The  first  part  became:  "Quest.  2.  What  shall  be  done  in 
cases  of  improper  tempers,  words,  or  actions?"  and  the  second 
part  became:  "  Quest.  3.  What  shall  be  done  with  those  Min- 
isters or  Preachers  who  hold  and  preach  doctrines  which  are 
contrary  to  our  Articles  of  Eeligion?"  That  eliminated  from 
the  old  form,  "a  breach  of  the  articles  and  Discipline  of  the 
Church,"  all  reference  to  the  "Discipline  of  the  Church,"  and 
limited  it  to  holding  and  preaching  "doctrines  which  are  con- 
trary to  our  Articles  of  Religion." 

The  answer  to  the  double  question  in  1791  was  as  follows: 
"  The  person  so  offending  shall  be  reprehended  by  his  Bishop, 
Elder,  Deacon,  or  Preacher  that  has  charge  of  the  Circuit;  or 
if  he  be  a  Bishop,  he  shall  be  reprehended  by  the  Conference. 
Should  a  second  transgression  take  place,  one,  two  or  three 
Preachers  may  be  called  in;  if  not  cured  then,  he  shall  be 
tried  at  the  Quarterly  Meeting  by  the  Elder  and  Preachers 
present;  if  still  incurable,  he  shall  be  brought  before  the  Con- 
ference, and  if  found  guilty  and  impenitent,  he  shall  be  ex- 
pelled from  the  connection,  and  his  name  so  returned  in  the 
Minutes." 

The  answer  to  the  first  part  of  the  old  question,  which 
became  the  second  question  of  1792,  was  changed  so  that  it 
read:  "The  person  so  offending  shall  be  reprehended  by  his 
senior  in  office.  Should  a  second  transgression  take  place, 
one,  two  or  three  Ministers  or  Preachers  are  to  be  taken  as 
witnesses.  If  he  be  not  then  cured,  he  shall  be  tried  at  the 
Conference  of  his  District,  and,  if  found  guilty  and  impeni- 
tent, shall  be  expelled  from  the  connexion,  and  his  name  so 
returned  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference." 

The  new  "Quest.  3.  What  shall  be  done  with  those  Minis- 
ters or  Preachers  who  hold  and  preach  doctrines  which  are 


26 


The  General  Conference. 


[1 792. 


contrary  to  our  Articles  of  Religion?"  was  answered  as  follows : 
"Answ.  Let  the  same  process  be  observed  as  in  cases  of  gross 
immorality;  but  if  the  Minister  or  Preacher  so  offending  do 
solemnly  engage  neither  to  preach  nor  defend  such  erroneous 
doctrines  in  public  or  in  private,  he  shall  be  borne  with  till 
his  case  be  laid  before  the  next  District  Conference,  which 
shall  determine  the  matter."  At  the  end  of  the  whole  section 
was  placed  a  paragraph  intended  to  cover  all  the  proceedings 
specified  in  the  section.  It  was  in  these  words:  "Provided, 
nevertheless,  that  in  all  the  above  mentioned  cases  of  trial 
and  conviction,  an  appeal  to  the  ensuing  General  Conference 
shall  be  allowed."  This  was  the  first  time  it  was  made  possi- 
ble to  appeal  to  the  Quadrennial  General  Conference. 

The  section,  in  1791,  had  the  following  closing  note: 
"X.  B. — Any  Preacher  suspended  at  a  Quarterly  Meeting  from 
preaching,  shall  not  resume  that  employment  again  but  by  the 
order  of  the  Conference.  But  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  a 
Preacher  shall  be  tried  by  a  Deacon,  a  Deacon  by  an  Elder,  an 
Elder  by  a  Presiding  Elder,  and  a  Presiding  Elder  by  the 
Presiding  Elder  of  a  neighboring  District."  This  was  taken 
out  in  1792,  and  the  above  mentioned  provision  for  appeal  to 
the  General  Conference  occupied  its  place. 

PROVISION  -FOR  SERVICES  ON  THE  CIRCUITS  WHEN  THE 
MINISTERS  ARE  IN  ATTENDANCE  UPON  THE 
SESSIONS  OF  THE  CONFERENCE. 

Section  XX  of  1792 — "  How  to  provide  for  the  Circuits  in 
the  Time  of  Conference,  and  to  preserve  and  increase  the 
Work  of  God,"  takes  the  place  of  Section  XVII  of  1791.  The 
old  section  had: 

Quest.  What  can  be  done  to  supply  the  Circuits  during  the  sitting 
of  the  Conference? 

Answ.  Let  all  the  appointments  stand  according  to  the  plan  of 

the  circuit. 

2.  Engage  as  many  local  Preachers  and  Exhorters  as  will  supply 
them,  and  let  them  be  paid  for  their  time  in  proportion  to  the  salary 
of  the  Traveling  Preachers. 

3.  If  Preachers  and  Exhorters  can  not  attend,  let  some  person  of 
ability  be  appointed  in  every  Society  to  sing,  pray,  and  read  one  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  sermons. 

4.  And  if  that  can  not  be  done,  let  there  be  prayer-meetings. 

5.  Wherever  you  can,  in  large  Societies,  appoint  prayer-meetings. 


1792.]  The  General  Conference.  27 


Lastly,  let  a  fast  be  published  at  every  quarterly  meeting  for  the 
Friday  following,  and  a  memorandum  of  it  be  written  on  all  the 
class-papers.  Also  be  active  in  dispersing  the  books  among  the 
people. 

This  section  was  modified  in  various  particulars  by  the 
General  Conference  of  1792.  In  Answer  4  the  words,  "And 
if  that  can  not  be  done,"  were  changed  to  "But  if  that  can 
not  be  done."  Answer  5  of  1791  was  taken  out  of  the  section, 
and  in  substance  was  inserted  in  the  new  Answer  11  under  the 
second  question  of  Section  X  of  1792,  and  the  closing  para- 
graph of  1791,  in  regard  to  the  fast,  was  taken  out  and  placed 
in  Answer  12  of  the  new  Section  X,  with  the  modification  that 
the  fasting  was  to  precede  the  Quarterly  Meeting,  while  the 
part  in  reference  to  "dispersing  the  books"  entirely  disappears, 
doubtless  because  essentially  the  same  duty  was  mentioned 
elsewhere  both  in  "the  Discipline  of  1791  and  1792. 

BAPTISM. 

Section  XXI — "Of  Baptism,"  in  1792,  corresponds  to  Sec- 
tion XIX  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 

The  old  form  was,  "Let  every  adult  person,  and  the 
parents  of  every  child  to  be  baptized,  have  the  choice  either 
of  immersion,  sprinkling,  or  pouring." 

"X.  B. — We  will  on  no  account  whatever  receive  a  present 
for  administering  baptism,  or  the  burial  of  the  dead." 

A  few  changes  were  made  in  the  new  Discipline.  Thus 
the  old  form,  "or  the  burial  of  the  dead,"  was  changed  to  "or 
for  burying  of  the  dead." 

THE  LORD'S  SUPPER. 

Section  XXII  of  1792,  entitled,  "Of  the  Lord's  Supper," 
is  very  much  the  same  as  Section  XX  of  1791,  and  takes  its 
place.  There  were  two  modifications.  In  the  old  law  the 
first  answer  to  the  question,  "Are  there  any  directions  to  be 
given  concerning  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper?" 
was:  "Answ.  1.  Let  those  who  choose  receive  it  kneeling,  or 
those  who  do  not,  either  standing  or  sitting,"  was  changed  in 
1792  to  read,  "Let  those  who  have  scruples  concerning  the 
receiving  of  it  kneeling,  be  permitted  to  receive  it  either 
standing  or  sitting." 


28 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


The  second  answer  remained  the  same  as  before — namely, 
"2.  Let  no  person  that  is  not  a  member  of  our  Society  be 
admitted  to  the  communion,  without  examination  and  some 
token  given  by  an  Elder  or  Deacon." 

In  1792  the  following  note  was  appended:  "Xo  person 
shall  be  admitted  to  the  Lord's  Supper  among  us  who- is  guilty 
of  any  practice  for  which  we  would  exclude  a  member  of  our 
society." 

PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 

Section  XXIII,  in  the  Discipline  of  1792,  "Of  Public  Wor- 
ship," is  new  throughout.    It  is  as  follows: 

Quest.  What  directions  shall  be  given  for  the  establishment  of 
uniformity  in  public  worship  amongst  us  on  the  Lord's  Day? 

Ansiv.  1.  Let  the  morning  service  consist  of  singing,  'prayer,  the 
reading  of  a  chapter  out  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  another  out  of 
the  New,  and  preaching. 

2.  Let  the  afternoon  service  consist  of  singing,  prayer,  the  read- 
ing of  one  chapter  out  of  the  Bible,  and  preaching. 

3.  Let  the  evening  service  consist  of  singing,  prayer,  and 
preaching. 

4.  But  on  the  days  of  administering  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  two 
chapters  in  the  morning  service  may  be  omitted. 

5.  Let  the  Society  be  met,  wherever  it  is  practicable,  on  the 
Sabbath  day. 

THE  SPIRIT  AND  TRUTH  OF  SINGING. 

Section  XXIV,  4'0f  the  Spirit  and  Truth  of  Singing,"  in 
the  Discipline  of  1792,  is  the  same  as  Section  XIII  of  the 
Discipline  of  1791,  with  the  exception  of  two  answers  and  a 
note  which  were  added. 

The  new  answers  were:  "14.  The  Preachers  are  desired 
not  to  encourage  the  singing  of  fugue-tunes  in  our  congrega- 
tions," and,  "15.  Let  it  be  recommended  to  our  people  not  to 
attend  the  singing-schools  which  are  not  under  our  direction." 

These  were  additional  answers  to  the  question,  "How  shall 
we  guard  against  formality  in  singing?" 

The  new  foot-note  was:  "X.  B. — We  do  not  think  that 
fugue-tunes  are  sinful,  or  improper  to  be  used  in  private  com- 
panies; but  we  do  not  approve  of  their  being  used  in  our 
public  congregations,  because  public  singing  is  a  part  of 
Divine  Worship  in  which  all  the  congregation  ought  to  join." 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


29 


RAISING  FUNDS  FOR  SUPERANNUATED  PREACHERS  AND 
WIDOWS  AND  ORPHANS  OF  PREACHERS. 

Section  XXV,  "Of  the  Method  of  raising  a  Fund  for  the 
Superannuated  Preachers  and  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of 
Preachers,"  in  the  Discipline  of  1792,  is  the  Section  XXIX  of 
1701  considerably  amended. 

The  second  answer  of  the  old  section,  "Let  every  one 
when  first  admitted  as  a  Traveling  Preacher  pay  twenty  shil- 
lings Pennsylvania  currency,"  was  changed  to  read  as  follows: 
"Let  every  Preacher,  when  first  admitted  into  full  connexion, 
pay  two  dollars  and  two-thirds,  at  the  Conference  of  his  Dis- 
trict," and  became  Answer  1  in  the  Discipline  of  1792. 

The  first  answer  of  1791,  "Let  every  Preacher  contribute 
two  dollars  yearly  at  the  Conference,"  was  made  Answer  2  in 
1792,  and  made  to  read  as  follows:  "Let  every  other  Preacher 
in  full  connexion  contribute  two  dollars  every  year,  except 
the  Conference  dispense  with  the  payment  in  cases  of  distress ; 
in  which  instances  the  Preacher  so  indulged  shall  be  entitled 
to  all  the  privileges  of  the  fund,  in  the  same  manner  as  if 
they  had  paid  their  subscription." 

The  third  answer  in  the  old  form,  "Let  the  money  be 
lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Presiding  Elder,  or  lent  to  the 
college,  and  an  account  thereof  be  kept  by  the  Deacon,"  was 
greatly  changed,  and  appeared  in  1792  in  the  following  form : 
"  Let  the  money  be  lodged  in  the  book  fund,  and  for  this  pur- 
pose be  sent  as  soon  as  may  be,  from  time  to  time,  to  the 
General  Book  Steward :  and  the  book  fund  shall  pay  interest 
for  the  same." 

After  the  third  answer,  in  1791,  there  appeared  the  follow- 
ing note:  "X".  B. — The  application  of  the  money  shall  rest 
with  the  Conference."  This  disappeared  from  this  place  in 
1792,  but  its  essential  idea  may  be  found  in  Answer  11  of  1792. 

The  former  Answer  5,  "Every  worn-out  Preacher  shall 
receive,  if  he  wants  it,  not  usually  more  than  twenty-four 
pounds  annually,  Pennsylvania  currency,"  was  changed  to 
read,  "Every  worn-out  Preacher  shall  receive,  if  he  need  it, 
not  usually  more  than  sixty-four  dollars  annually." 

Answer  6  of  1791,  "Every  widow  of  a  Preacher  shall  re- 


30 


27te  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


ceive  yearly,  if  she  wants  it,  during  her  widowhood  twenty 
pounds,"  was  amended  so  as  to  read,  * 'Every  widow  of  a 
Preacher  shall  receive  annually,  if  she  need  it,  during  her 
widowhood  fifty-three  dollars  and  one-third." 

The  seventh  answer  of  1791,  "Every  child  of  a  Preacher 
shall  receive  once  for  all,  if  he  wants  it,  twenty  pounds,"  be- 
came in  1792,  "Every  orphan  of  a  Preacher  shall  receive  once 
for  all,  if  needed,  fifty-three  dollars  and  one-third." 

The  former  Answer  8,  "But  none  shall  be  entitled  to  any- 
thing from  this  fund  till  he  has  paid  fifty  shillings,"  was 
changed  to  read,  "But  no  one  shall  be  entitled  to  anything 
from  this  fund  till  he  has  paid  six  dollars  and  two-thirds. '? 

The  former  Answer  9,  "Xor  any  one  who  neglects  paying 
his  subscription  for  three  years  together,  unless  he  be  sent  by 
the  Conference  out  of  these  United  States,"  became,  "Xor 
any  one  who  neglects  to  pay  his  subscription  and  arrears  for 
three  years  together,  unless  he  be  employed  on  foreign  mis- 
sions, or  has  received  a  dispensation  as  above  mentioned." 

Answer  10  of  1791,  "Let  every  assistant,  as  far  as  possible, 
bring  to  the  Conference  the  contribution  of  every  Preacher 
left  behind  in  his  Circuit,"  was  altered  so  as  to  read:  "Let 
every  Preacher  who  has  the  care  of  a  Circuit,  bring  to  the 
Conference,  as  far  as  possible,  the  contribution  of  every 
Preacher  left  behind  in  his  Circuit." 

The  section,  in  1791,  ended  with  the  tenth  answer,  but  in 
1792  six  other  answers  were  added,  as  follows: 

11.  Every  person  who  desires  support  from  this  fund,  shall  first 
make  his  case  known  to  the  District  Conference,  which  shall  deter- 
mine how  far  he  is  a  proper  subject  of  relief. 

12.  The  President  of  the  District  Conference  shall  give  an  order 
on  the  General  Steward  of  the  book  fund,  or  any  of  his  agents,  for 
any  sum  of  money  allowed  by  the  Conference,  agreeably  to  these 
rules. 

13.  The  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  fund  shall  be  printed 
annually  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Conference. 

14.  The  Presiding  Elder  of  each  District  shall  keep  a  regular 
account  of  all  the  concerns  of  the  fund,  as  far  as  they  relate  to  his 
District,  in  a  proper  book,  which  he  shall  hand  down  to  his  suc- 
cessor. 

15.  The  next  District  Conferences  shall  give  certificates  to  all 
theii  members  respectively,  for  all  the  money  which  each  Preacher 
has  already  advanced  to  the  fund,  as  far  as  it  can  be  ascertained,  and 


17(J2.] 


The  General  Conference. 


31 


in  future,  each  member  of  the  fund  shall  receive  a  certificate  from 
his  District  Conference  for  the  payment  of  his  subscription. 

1G.  The  fund  shall  never  be  reduced  to  less  than  six  hundred 
dollars. 

A  GENERAL  FUND  FOR  THE  PROPAGATION  OF  THE 
GOSPEL. 

Section  XXVI  of  1792  has  the  title,  "Of  raising  a  general 
Fund  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,"  is  essentially  the 
same  as  Section  XXVIII  of  1791,  which  opened  with  the 
question,  "How  may  we  raise  a  general  fund  for  carrying  on 
the  whole  work  of  God?"  This  question  was  continued  in 
1792.  The  answer  in  1791  began,  "By  a  yearly  collection, 
and,  if  need  be,  a  quarterly  one,  to  be  raised  by  every  assist- 
ant in  every  principal  congregation  in  his  Circuit.  To  this 
end,  he  may  then  read  and  enlarge  upon  the  following  hints 
in  every  such  congregation." 

The  changes  made  in  this  part  in  1792  were  merely  verbal. 
"  Every  assistant"  was  changed  to  "every  one  who  has  charge 
of  a  Circuit,"  and  the  words  "in  every  such  congregation," 
at  the  end,  were  omitted. 

In  the  hints  which  followed  the  general  answer  no  material 
modifications  were  made,  the  only  changes  being  the  substitu- 
tion of  "whether  there  be  societies  or  not"  for  "whether  there 
are  societies  or  not;"  and  "Beside  this"  for  "Besides  this." 
So  that  these  particular  parts  read:  "By  this  means  those  who 
willingly  offer  themselves,  may  travel  through  every  part, 
whether  there  be  societies  or  not,  and  stay  wherever  there  is  a 
call,  without  being  burdensome  to  any,"  and  "Beside  this,  in 
carrying  on  so  large  a  work  through  the  continent,  there  are 
calls  for  money  in  various  ways,  and  we  must  frequently  be  at 
considerable  expense,  or  the  work  must  be  at  a  full  stop." 

This  section  ended  Chapter  1  of  the  New  Discipline  of  1792. 

CHAPTER  II  OF  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  1792. 

This  division  of  the  new  Discipline  refers  mainly  to  matters 
relating  to  the  membership  of  the  Church,  as  Chapter  1  re- 
ferred chiefly  to  the  Ministry. 


32  The  General  Conference.  [1792. 


GENERAL  RULES. 

Section  1  consists  of  "The  Xature,  Design,  and  General 
Rules  of  the  United  Societies,"  and  corresponds  to  Section 
XXXV  of  1791.    There  are,  however,  a  number  of  changes. 

In  1701  the  Section  opened  as  follows:  "1.  Our  Society  is 
nothing  more  than  comjmny  of  men  having  the  form  and 
seeking  the  power  of  godliness,  united  in  order  to  pray  together, 
to  receive  the  word  of  exhortation,  and  to  watch  over  one 
another  in  love,  that  they  may  help  each  other  to  work  out  their 
salvation.'  " 

In  1792  this  was  preceded  by  an  historical  statement,  as 
follows: 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1739,  eight  or  ten  persons  came  to 
Mr.  Wesley,  in  London,  who  appeared  to  be  deeply  convinced  of  sin, 
and  earnestly  groaning  for  redemption.  They  desired  (as  did  two  or 
three  more  the  next  day)  that  he  would  spend  some  time  with  them 
in  prayer,  and  advise  them  how  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come ; 
which  they  saw  continually  hanging  over  their  heads.  That  he  might 
have  more  time  for  this  great  work,  he  appointed  a  day  when  they 
might  all  come  together,  which  from  thence  forward  they  did  every 
week — namely,  on  Thursday,  in  the  evening.  To  these,  and  as  many 
more  as  desired  to  join  with  them  (for  their  number  increased  daily), 
he  gave  those  advices  from  time  to  time  which  he  judged  most  need- 
ful for  them;  and  they  always  concluded  their  meeting  with  prayer 
suited  to  their  several  necessities. 

2.  This  was  the  rise  of  the  United  Societies,  first  in  Europe  and 
then  in  America. 

This  was  very  much  as  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  wrote  the 
prefatory  statement  in  1743,  but  the  third  person  is  substituted 
for  the  first,  and  Mr.  Wesley's  name  is  introduced.  Mr. 
Wesley  wrote:  "Eight  or  ten  persons  came  to  me;"  but  the 
Discipline  of  1792  has  "came  to  Mr.  Wesley."  Mr.  Wesley 
wrote:  "They  desired  (as  did  two  or  three  more  the  next  day) 
that  1  would  spend  some  time  with  them;"  but  the  Discipline 
of  1792  had  "that  he  would  spend  some  time  with  them." 
Mr.  Wesley  wrote:  "I  appointed,"  "I  gave,"  and  "I  judged;" 
while  the  Discipline  of  1792  inserted  "he"  instead  of  "I." 

So  Wesley  wrote,  "This  was  the  rise  of  the  United  So- 
cieties, first  in  London,  and  then  in  other  places;"  but  the 
Discipline  of  1792  modified  this,  in  view  of  the  spread  of  the 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


33 


societies,  and  made  it  read,  "This  was  the  rise  of  the  United 
Society,  first  in  Europe  and  then  in  America." 

The  form  of  1791,  "  Our  society  is  nothing  more  than," 
was  changed  back  to  the  form  Wesley  had  used,  so  that  it  be- 
came, in  1792,  "Such  a  society  is  no  other  than  a  company," 
etc. ,  and  this  was  inserted  as  part  of  the  new  second  paragraph 
in  1792,  thus  conforming  to  the  form  Wesley  used  in  1743. 

Under  the  duty  of  the  leader,  the  Discipline  of  1791  had: 
"  To  inform  the  minister  of  any  that  are  sick,  or  of  any  that 
walk  disorderly,  or  will  not  be  reproved."  In  1792  the  last 
"or"  was  changed  to  "and " — " that  walk  disorderly,  and  will 
not  be  reproved,"  again  making  the  language  conform  to  that 
used  by  Wesley  in  1743. 

In  1791  the  Rules  said:  "  There  is  only  one  condition  pre- 
viously required  of  those  who  desire  admission  into  these 
societies,  a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come:  i.  e.,  a  desire 
to  be  saved  from  their  sins."  The  Discipline  of  1792  changed 
the  latter  part  so  as  to  read,  "a  desire  to  flee  from  the  wrath 
to  come,  and  to  be  saved  from  their  sins." 

In  1791  there  was  the  following  prohibition  against  "the 
buying  or  selling  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  women,  or  chil- 
dren, with  an  intention  to  enslave  them."  The  General  Con- 
ference of  1792  omitted  "the  bodies  and  souls,"  so  that  the 
rule  became,  "the  buying  or  selling  of  men,  women,  or  chil- 
dren, with  the  intention  to  enslave  them." 

Among  the  specified  duties  in  1791  was  that  of  "buying 
one  of  another  (unless  you  can  be  better  served  elsewhere)." 
In  1792  the  parenthetical  clause  was  taken  out,  so  that  the  rule 
presented  the  unqualified  duty  of  "buying  one  of  another." 

In  the  closing  paragraph  of  1791  was  the  form:  "And  all 
these  we  know  his  Spirit  writes  on  every  truly  awakened  heart." 
In  1792  this  became:  "And  all  these  we  know  his  Spirit 
writes  on  truly  awakened  hearts."  No  other  changes  were 
made  in  the  Rules  in  1792. 

CLASS-MEETINGS. 

Section  II,  "Of  Class-meetings,"  in  1792,  is,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  the  same  as  Section  VIII  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 
Under  Question  1  in  1791,  "How  may  the  leaders  of  classes 
3 


34 


The  General  Confeaence. 


[1792. 


be  rendered  more  useful?''  the  third  answer  was :  11  Let  the  lead 
ers  converse  with  the  elder  and  deacon  frequently  and  freely." 
In  1792  this  became:  "Let  the  leaders  converse  with  those 
who  have  charge  of  their  circuits  frequently  and  freely." 

The  fourth  question,  "How  shall  we  be  more  strict  in 
receiving  and  excluding  members?"  was  followed  in  1791  by 
the  answer:  "In  large  societies  wre  may  read  the  names  of 
those  that  are  received  and  excluded,  once  a  quarter."  This, 
in  1792,  became:  "The  official  minister  or  preacher  shall, 
at  every  quarterly-meeting,  read  the  names  of  those  that  are 
received  and  excluded." 

In  1791  the  answer  to  "Quest.  5.  What  shall  we  do  with 
those  members  of  society  who  willfully  and  repeatedly  neglect 
to  meet  their  class?"  was:  "1.  Let  the  elder,  deacon,  or  one 
of  the  preachers,  visit  them,  whenever  it  is  practicable, 
and  explain  to  them  the  consequence  if  they  continue  to 
neglect,  viz.,  exclusion.  2.  If  they  do  not  amend,  let  the 
elder  exclude  them  in  the  society;  showing  that  they  are 
laid  aside  for  a  breach  of  our  rules  of  discipline,  and  not 
for  immoral  conduct."  In  1792  the  second  part  was  slightly 
amended,  so  as  to  read:  "If  they  do  not  amend,  let  him 
who  has  the  charge  of  the  circuit  exclude  them  in  the 
society,"  etc. 

BAND  SOCIETIES. 

Section  III,  "  Of  the  Band  Societies,"  in  the  Discipline  of 

1792,  takes  the  place  of  Section  IX  of  1791. 

The  prefatory  statement  in  1791  was  as  follows:  "Two, 
three,  or  four  true  believers,  who  have  full  confidence  in  each 
other,  form  a  band.  Only  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  one  of 
these  bands,  all  must  be  men,  or  all  women;  and  all  married 
or  all  single."  This  is  repeated  in  1792,  with  a  slight  altera- 
tion, and  that  is  striking  out  of  the  word  "full,"  so  that  "who 
have  full  confidence  in  each  other"  was  changed  to  "who 
have  confidence  in  each  other." 

In  1791  the  first  paragraph  read:  "The  design  of  our 
meeting  is  to  obey  that  command  of  God,  Confess  your  faults 
one  to  another,  and  pray  one  for  another,  that  you  may  be 
healed."    In  1792  the  Scriptural  quotation  was  made  to  con- 


1792.]  The  General  Conference.  35 

form  to  the  Authorized  Version  by  changing  "you"  to  "ye" — 
"that  ye  may  be  healed,"  and  the  quotation  was  located  by 
adding,  "Jam.  v,  1G." 

The  declaration  which  followed  in  1791,  "To  this  end,  we 
intend,"  was  changed  to  read,  "To  this  end,  we  agree." 

The  third  agreement,  namely,  "To  begin  (those  of  us 
who  are  present)  exactly  at  the  hour  with  singing  or  prayer" 
was  changed  in  1792  to  :  "To  begin  exactly  at  the  hour  with 
singing  or  prayer." 

The  fourth  agreement :  "To  speak,  each  of  us  in  order, 
freely  and  plainly,  the  true  state  of  our  souls,  with  the  faults 
we  have  committed  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  and  the  temp- 
tations we  have  felt  since  our  last  meeting,"  was  modified  so 
that  "the  faults  we  have  committed  in  thought,  word,  or 
deed  "became:  "the  faults  we  have  committed  in  tempers, 
words,  or  actions." 

The  eleventh  question  in  1791  was:  "Is  it  your  desire  and 
design  to  be  on  this  and  all  other  occasions  entirely  open,  so  as 
to  speak  every  thing  that  is  in  your  heart,  without  exception, 
without  disguise,  and  without  reserve?"  was  in  1792  modified 
by  eliminating:  "every  thing  that  is  in  your  heart,  without 
exception." 

The  direction:  "Any  of  the  preceding  questions  may  be 
asked  as  often  as  occasion  offers :  The  five  following  at  every 
meeting,"  was  altered  by  substituting  "as  occasion  requires" 
for  "  as  occasion  offers  "  and  "  The  four  following  "  was  substi- 
tuted for  "The  five  following."  The  change  to  four  was  made 
necessary  by  striking  out  the  fifth  of  this  series  of  questions : 
"Have  you  nothing  you  desire  to  keep  secret?" 

The  second  of  the  four  questions  which  must  be  asked  "at 
every  meeting,"  namely,  "What  temptations  have  you  met 
with?"  became,  in  1792,  "What  particular  temptations  have  you 
met  with?"  The  third  question:  "How  was  you  delivered?" 
became:  "How  were  you  delivered?" 

Under  the  heading:  "Directions  given  to  the  Band  Socie- 
ties. December  25,  1744,"  a  number  of  changes  were  made. 
The  fourth  item  under  the  direction  "Carefully  to  abstain 
from  doing  evil,"  namely,  "To  pawn  nothing,"  was  taken  out 
in  1792. 


36  The  General  Conference.  [1792. 


Taking  out  the  fourth  item  reduced  the  points  from  seven 
to  six  and  necessitated  a  corresponding  change  in  the  number- 
ing. The  former  "7.  To  use  no  needless  self-indulgence; 
such  as  taking  snuff  or  tobacco,  unless  prescribed  by  a  physi- 
cian," was  shortened  into:  "6.  To  use  no  needless  self-indul- 
gence." 

Under  the  duty  "  Zealously  to  maintain  good  work-,"  1791 
had  as  the  first  specification :  "To  give  alms  of  such  things  as 
you  possess,  and  that  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,"  became, 
in  1792,  "  To  give  aims  of  such  things  as  you  possess,  and  that 
according  to  your  ability." 

Among  the  directions  "  Constantly  to  attend  on  all  the  or- 
dinances of  God  "  the  first  had  been  in  the  Discipline  of  1791 : 
"  To  be  at  Church,  and  at  the  Lord's  table  every  week,  and  at 
every  public  meeting  of  the  bands."  In  1792  it  was  amended 
and  appeared  as  follows:  "To  be  at  Church,  and  at  the  Lord's 
table,  and  at  every  public  meeting  of  the  bands,  at  every  op- 
portunity." 

The  second  item  under  that  head  in  1791  was  "To  attend 
the  ministry  of  the  word  every  morning,  unless  distance,  busi- 
ness or  sickness  prevent"  was  eliminated. 

The  former:  "4.  To  read  the  Scriptures,  and  meditate 
thereon  at  every  vacant  hour,"  was  changed  to :  "3.  Frequently 
to  read  the  Scriptures,  and  meditate  thereon." 

PRIVILEGES  GRANTED  TO  NON-MEMBERS. 

Section  IV,  "  Of  the  Privileges  Granted  to  Serious  Persons 
that  are  not  of  the  Society,"  is  almost  exactly  the  same  a3  Sec- 
tion XXIV  of  the  Discipline  of  1791.  There  was  only  one  modi- 
fication, and  that  was  in  the  last  clause:  "unless  he  becomes 
a  member"  was  changed  to  "  unless  he  become  a  member." 

The  rule  as  to  admitting  such  strangers  to  the  meetings  of 
the  society  was:  "At  every  other  meeting  of  the  society  in 
every  place,  let  no  stranger  be  admitted.  At  other  times  they 
may;  but  the  same  persons  not  above  twice  or  thrice." 

As  to  their  attendance  at  the  love-feasts,  the  following  was 
the  rule:  "Let  them  be  admitted  with  the  utmost  caution; 
and  the  same  person  on  no  account  above  twice  or  thrice,  un- 
less he  become  a  member." 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


37 


STEWARDS. 

Section  V,  "Of  the  Qualification  and  Duty  of  the  Stew- 
ards of  Circuits"  of  1792  is  the  equivalent  of  Section  XXXIV 
of  the  Discipline  of  1791,  but  a  number  of  changes  were 
made.  The  former  title  was  simply:  "  Of  the  Qualification 
and  Duty  of  Stewards."  The  old:  "Quest.  2.  What  is  the 
Duty  of  Stewards?"  became:  "What  are  the  Duties  of  the 
Stewards?" 

The  answer  to  this  question  in  1791  was  : 

To  take  an  exact  account  of  all  the  money,  or  other  provision 
made  for  and  received  by  any  traveling  or  local  Preacher  in  the  cir- 
cuit; to  make  an  accurate  return  of  every  expenditure  of  money, 
whether  to  the  Preacher,  to  the  sick,  or  the  poor ;  to  seek  the  needy 
and  distressed,  in  order  to  relieve  and  comfort  them ;  to  inform 
the  Preachers  of  any  sick  or  disorderly  persons  ;  to  tell  the  Preachers 
what  they  think  wrong  in  them ;  to  attend  the  quarterly  meetings  of 
their  circuit;  to  give  advice,  if  asked,  in  planning  the  circuit;  to  at- 
tend committees  for  the  application  of  money  to  churches ;  to  give 
counsel  in  matters  of  arbitration  ;  to  provide  elements  for  the  Lord's 
Supper;  to  write  circular  letters  to  the  societies  in  the  circuit  to 
be  more  liberal,  if  need  be ;  as  also  to  let  them  know  the  state  of 
the  temporalities  at  the  last  quarterly  meeting ;  to  register  the  mar- 
riages and  baptisms,  and  to  be  subject  to  the  Bishops,  the  presiding 
Eider  of  their  district,  and  the  Elder,  Deacon  and  Traveling  Preach- 
ers of  their  circuit. 

In  1792  the  words :  "  made  for  and  received  by  any  traveling 
or  local  Preacher  in  the  circuit "  were  taken  out  and  instead 
were  inserted  the  words :  "  collected  for  the  support  of  Preach- 
ers in  the  circuit,"  and  the  words :  "  as  also  to  let  them  know  the 
state  of  the  temporalities  at  the  last  quarterly  meeting  "  were 
changed  so  as  to  read:  "as  also  to  let  them  know,  when  oc- 
casion requires,  the  state  of  the  temporal  concerns  at  the  last 
quarterly  meeting." 

IMPROPER  MARRIAGES 

Section  VI,  "  Of  Unlawful  Marriages,"  in  the  Discipline  of 
1792,  covers  the  ground  of  Section  XXI  of  1791.  In  the  lat- 
ter year  the  first  question  and  answer  were:  "Quest.  1.  Do 
we  observe  any  evil  which  has  lately  prevailed  among  our  so- 
cieties?   Answ.  Many  of  our  members  have  married  with  un- 


38 


The  General  Conference, 


[1792. 


awakened  persons.  This  has  produced  bad  effects:  they  have 
been  either  hindered  for  life,  or  turned  back  to  perdition." 
In  1792  "or  turned  back  to  perdition"  was  slightly  changed 
so  as  to  read:  "or  have  turned  back  to  perdition." 

The  only  other  change  is  the  addition  of  the  explanatory 
note  at  the  end  of  the  section  as  follows:  "iV.  B.  By  the  word 
unaivakened,  as  used  above,  we  mean  one  whom  we  could  not 
in  conscience  admit  into  society." 

DRESS. 

Section  VII,  "  Of  Dress,"  is  substantially  the  same  as  Sec- 
tion XXIII  of  1791;  which  was  against  "superfluity  of  ap- 
parel" and  "superfluous  ornaments."  It  was  amended  in 
two  particulars ;  first,  "Let  every  Deacon  read  the  thoughts 
upon  dress,  at  least  once  a  year  in  every  large  society,"  was 
changed  to:  "  Let  every  one  who  has  the  charge  of  a  circuit, 
read  the  thoughts  upon  dress,  at  least  once  a  year  in  every 
large  society;"  and,  second,  "Allow  of  no  exempt  case,  not 
even  of  a  married  woman :  Better  one  suffer  than  many,"  be- 
came: "Allow  of  no  exempt  case:  Better  one  suffer  than 
many." 

TRIAL  OF  MEMBERS. 

Section  VIII,  "  Of  Bringing  to  Trial,  Finding  Guilty,  and 
Reproving,  Suspending,  or  Excluding  Disorderly  Persons  from 
Society  and  Church  Privileges,"  takes  the  place  of  Section 
XXXII,  of  the  Discipline  of  1791.  The  old  title  was:  "Of 
Bringing  to  Trial,  Finding  Guilty,  Reproving,  Suspending, 
and  Excluding,"  etc.  This  was  corrected  by  inserting  "  and  " 
before  "reproving"  and  substituting  "or"  for  "and"  before 
"  excluding." 

In  the  answer  to  the  question:  "  How  shall  the  suspected 
member  be  brought  to  trial?"  a  number  of  alterations  were 
.made.  "  Let  the  accused  and  accuser  be  brought  face  to  face ; 
if  this  can  not  be  done,  let  the  next  best  evidence  be  procured  " 
was  slightly  modified  by  inserting  "but"  so  that  it  read: 
"  but  if  this  can  not  be  done  let  the  next  best  evidence  be  pro- 
cured." 

"If  the  accused  person  be  found  guilty,  and  the  crime  be 
such  as  is  expressly  forbidden  by  the  word  of  God,  sufficient 


1702.] 


The  General  Conference. 


to  exclude  a  person  from  the  kingdom  of  grace  and  glory,  and 
to  make  him  a  subject  of  wrath  and  hell,  let  him  be  expelled," 
was  amended  by  striking  out  the  words,  "let  him  be  ex- 
pelled," and  inserting  in  their  place,  "let  the  Minister  or 
Preacher  who  has  the  charge  of  the  circuit,  expel  him."  In 
this  connection,  the  sentence,  "And  without  evident  marks 
and  fruits  of  repentance,  such  offenders  shall  be  solemnly  dis- 
owned before  the  Church,"  was  stricken  out.  The  rule  that 
"witnesses  from  without  shall  not  be  rejected,  if  a  majority 
believe  them  to  be  honest  men,"  was  amended  by  eliminating 
the  words,  "if  a  majority  believe  them  to  be  honest  men." 

In  cases  of  alleged  neglect  of  duty,  and  of  "indulging  in 
sinful  tempers  and  words,"  the  law  of  1791  read:  "First,  let 
private  reproof  be  given  by  a  Leader  or  Preacher."  In  the  new 
law  the  order  was  transposed  to  "a  Preacher  or  Leader."  "If 
there  be  an  acknowledgment  of  the  fault"  became  "and  if 
there  be  an  acknowledgment  of  the  fault."  "On  a  second 
offense,  a  Preacher  may  take  one  or  two  faithful  friends,"  was 
made  to  read:  "  The  Preacher  or  Leader  may  take  one  or  two 
faithful  friends."  "On  a  third  failure,  if  the  transgression 
be  increased  or  continued,"  was  amended  by  striking  out 
"failure,"  and  inserting  "offense,"  and  striking  out  the  words, 
"if  the  transgession  be  increased  or  continued."  "Let  it  be 
brought  before  the  society  or  a  select  number"  became,  "  Let 
the  case  be  brought  before  the  society  or  a  select  number." 
"If  there  be  no  sign  of  humiliation,  and  the  Church  is  dishon- 
ored, the  offender  must  be  cut  off,"  was  changed  to  read:  "If 
there  be  no  sign  of  real  humiliation,  the  offender  must  be  cut  off. " 

In  the  reference  to  an  appeal:  "If  there  be  a  murmur  or 
complaint  that  justice  is  not  done,  the  person  shall  be  allowed  an 
appeal  to  the  quarterly  meeting,  and  have  his  case  reconsidered 
before  a  Bishop,  Presiding  Elder,  or  Deacon,  with  the  Preach- 
ers, Stewards,  and  Leaders  who  may  be  present,"  was  made  to 
read:  "If  there  be  a  murmur  or  complaint  from  any  excluded 
person  in  any  of  the  above-mentioned  instances  that  justice  has 
not  been  done,  he  shall  be  allowed  an  appeal  to  the  next 
quarterly  meeting;  and  the  majority  of  the  Ministers,  Travel- 
ing and  Local  Preachers,  Exhorters,  Stewards,  and  Leaders, 
present  shall  finally  determine  the  case." 


40 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


"After  such  forms  of  trial  and  expulsion,  such  persons  as 
are  thus  excommunicated  shall  have  no  privileges  of  society 
and  sacrament  in  our  Church,  without  contrition,  confession, 
and  proper  trial,"  was  changed  to,  "After  such  forms  of  trial 
and  expulsion,  such  persons  shall  have  no  privileges  of  society 
or  of  sacraments  in  our  Church,  without  contrition,  confession, 
and  proper  trial." 

In  1792  a  new  law  was  placed  at  the  end  of  the  section,  in 
the  following  form:  "X.  B.  If  a  member  of  our  Church  shall 
be  clearly  convicted  of  endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions  in  any  of 
our  societies,  by  inveighing  against  either  our  doctrines  or 
discipline,  such  person  so  offending  shall  first  be  reproved  by 
the  senior  Minister  or  Preacher  of  his  circuit;  and,  if  he  after- 
wards persist  in  such  pernicious  practices,  he  shall  be  expelled 
the  society." 

This  section  marks  the  end  of  the  second  chapter  division 
of  the  Book  of  Discipline  of  1792. 

CHAPTER  III  OF  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  1792. 
CHURCH  ERECTION. 

Section  I,  44  Of  Building  Churches,  and  the  Order  to  be 
observed  therein,"  is  in  lieu  of  Section  XXVII  of  the  Dis- 
cipline of  1791. 

The  first  answer  is  the  same  in  both,  namely:  "Let  all  our 
churches  be  built  plain  and  decent ;  but  not  more  expensively 
than  is  absolutely  unavoidable;  otherwise  the  necessity  of  rais- 
ing of  money  will  make  rich  men  necessary  to  us.  But  if  so, 
we  must  be  dependent  on  them,  yea,  and  governed  by  them. 
And  then  farewell  to  Methodist  discipline,  if  not  doctrine  too." 

The  next  paragraph  in  1791:  "N.  B.  1.  That  no  person 
shall  be  eligible  as  a  Trustee  to  any  of  our  churches  or  col- 
leges, nor  act  as  a  Steward,  or  Leader,  that  is  not  in  constant 
church  communion,  and  a  regular  leader  or  member  of  a  class. 

"  2.  That  no  person  that  is  a  Trustee,  shall  be  ejected 
while  he  is  in  joint  security  for  money,  unless  such  relief  be 
given  him  as  is  demanded,  or  the  person  who  makes  the  loan 
will  accept,"  was  altered  in  several  points.  The  first  "that" 
was  stricken  out  so  that  item  1  began:  "  Xo  person  shall  be 


1792.]  The  General  Conference.  41 


eligible."  The  word  "  schools "  was  substituted  for  "col- 
leges." The  phrase  "nor  act  as  Steward  or  Leader"  was 
omitted  ' 4  That  is  not  in  constant  Church  communion,  and 
a  regular  leader  or  member  of  a  class  "  became  "  who  is  not  a 
regular  member  of  our  society."  The  first  part  of  the  second 
item:  "That  no  person  that  is  a  Trustee"  was  made  to  read: 
"  No  person  who  is  a  Trustee."  Then  the  amended  form  in 
1792  was:  " N.  B.  1.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  as  a  Trustee 
to  any  of  our  Churches  or  schools,  who  is  not  a  regular  mem- 
ber of  our  society. 

"2.  No  person  who  is  a  Trustee,  shall  be  ejected  while  he 
is  joint  security  for  money,  unless  such  relief  be  given  him  as 
is  demanded,  or  the  creditor  will  accept." 

The  second  question  and  answer  in  regard  to  the  rule: 
"  Let  the  men  and  women  sit  apart,"  remained  the  same. 

"Quest.  3.  But  is  there  not  a  worse  indecency  than  this, 
talking  in  the  congregation,  before  and  after  service?  How 
shall  this  be  cured?"  was  changed  to  read:  "Is  there  not 
a  great  indecency  sometimes  practiced  amongst  us;  viz.,  talk- 
ing in  the  congregation  before  and  after  service?  How  shall 
this  be  cured?" 

The  answer  remained  the  same  in  1792,  namely:  "Let  all 
the  Ministers  and  Preachers  join  as  one  man,  and  enlarge  on 
the  impropriety  of  talking  before  or  after  service;  and 
strongly  exhort  those  that  are  concerned,  to  do  it  no  more. 
In  three  months,  if  we  are  in  earnest,  this  vile  practice  will 
be  banished  out  of  every  Methodist  congregation.  Let  none 
stop  till  he  has  carried  his  point." 

THE  PRINTING  OF  BOOKS. 

Section  II,  "  Of  the  Printing  of  Books,  and  the  Applica- 
tion of  the  Profits  arising  therefrom,"  covers  the  subject  con- 
tained in  Section  XXXI  of  the  Book  of  Discipline  of  1791. 
Title  is  exactly  the  same,  but  the  body  of  the  section  is  very 
different. 

The  old  law  was  as  follows : 

As  it  has  been  frequently  recommended  by  the  Preachers  and 
people,  that  such  books  as  are  wanted,  be  printed  in  this  country — we 
therefore  propose: 

1.  That  the  advice  of  the  Conference  shall  be  desired  concerning 


42 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


any  valuable  impression,  and  their  consent  be  obtained,  before  any 
steps  be  taken  for  the  printing  thereof. 

2.  That  the  profits  of  the  books,  after  all  the  necessary  expenses 
are  defrayed,  shall  be  applied,  as  the  Bishop  and  Council  shall  direct. 

The  three  paragraphs  just  quoted,  which  constituted  the 
old  section,  were  completely  eliminated,  and  new  matter  in- 
serted as  follows: 

1.  Who  is  employed  to  manage  the  printing  business? 
Answ.  John  Dickins. 

Quest.  2.  What  allowance  shall  be  paid  him  annually  for  his 

services? 

Answ.  1.  200  dollars,  for  a  dwelling-house  and  for  a  book-room. 

2.  80  dollars  for  a  boy. 

3.  53  dollars  1-3,  for  fire  wood  ;  and, 

4.  333  dollars  to  clothe  and  feed  himself,  his  wife,  and  his  chil- 
dren.   In  all,  666  dollars  1-3. 

Quest.  3.  What  powers  shall  be  grant  him? 

Ansa:.  1.  To  regulate  the  publications  according  to  the  state  of  the 

finances. 

2.  To  determine,  with  the  approbation  of  the  Book  Committee, 
on  the  amount  of  the  draughts  which  may  be  drawn  from  time  to 
time  on  the  Book  Fund. 

3.  To  complain  to  the  District  Conferences,  if  any  Preachers  shall 
neglect  to  make  due  payment  for  books. 

4.  To  publish  from  time  to  time  such  books  or  treatises  as  he  and 
the  other  members  of  the  Book  Committee  shall  unanimously  judge 
proper. 

Quest.  4.  Who  shall  form  the  Book  Committee? 

Answ.  John  Dickins,  Henry  Willis,  Thomas  Haskins,  and  the 
Preacher  who  is  stationed  in  Philadelphia  from  time  to  time. 

Quest.  5.  How  much  shall  be  annually  allowed  out  of  the  Book 
Fund  for  Cokesbury  College,  till  the  next  General  Conference? 

Answ.  Eight  hundred  dollars,  for  the  ensuing  year ;  and  one  thou- 
sand and  sixty-six  dollars  and  two-thirds,  for  each  of  the  remaining 
three  years. 

Quest.  6.  What  directions  shall  be  given,  concerning  the  applica- 
tion of  the  money  allowed  as  above  for  Cokesbury  College? 
Ansvj.  The  money  shall  be  applied  as  follows: 

1.  For  the  education  and  board  of  the  boys  thaj,  are  now  on  the 
charitable  part  of  the  foundation.  But  no  boy  shall  be  again  placed 
on  the  charity  till  the  next  General  Conference. 

2.  The  surplus  of  the  money,  after  the  charity  is  supplied,  shall 
be  from  time  to  time  appropriated  to  the  payment  of  the  debt  of  the 
college,  and  to  the  finishing  of  the  building,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Bishop  and  the  Committee  of  Safety. 


The  General  Conference. 


43 


N.  B.  The  present  debt  of  the  college  is  about  eleven  hundred 
dollars.  The  present  expense  of  the  charity  is  about  nine  hundred 
and  sixty-three  dollars  annually  ;  but  this  will  probably  sink  into  less 
than  one-half  before  the  next  General  Conference. 

Quest.  7.  What  sum  of  money  shall  be  allowed  distressed  Preach- 
ers out  of  the  Book  Fund,  till  the  next  General  Conference? 

Answ.  266  dollars  and  1-3  per  annum. 

Quest.  8.  How  is  the  money  mentioned  above,  for  the  benefit  of 
distressed  Preachers,  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  Book  Fund? 

Answ.  By  the  Bishop,  according  to  the  united  judgment  of  him- 
self and  the  District  Conferences. 

Quest.  9.  What  shall  be  allowed  the  Bishop  out  of  the  Book  Fund, 
for  the  benefit  of  district  schools,  till  the  next  General  Conference? 

Answ.  64  dollars  per  annum. 

Quest.  10.  How  shall  the  surplus  of  the  Book  Fund  be  applied,  till 
the  next  General  Conference,  after  the  provisions  above  mentioned 
are  made? 

Answ.  To  the  forming  of  a  capital  stock  for  the  carrying  on  of  the 
concerns  of  the  books. 

THE  COKESBURY  COLLEGE. 

Section  III,  "  Of  the  Plan  of  Education  Established  in 
Cokesbury  College,"  is  mainly  the  same  as  Section  XXX  of  the 
Discipline  of  1791.  In  1792,  under  the  heading,  there  was 
inserted  the  address,  "To  the  Public,  and  to  the  Members  of 
our  Society  in  particular." 

The  former  statement,  "It  is  to  receive  for  education  and 
board  the  sons  of  the  Elders  and  Preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Church,  poor  orphans,  and  the  sons  of  the  subscribers  and  of 
other  friends,"  was  amended  by  the  insertion  of  the  word 
Deacons,  so  that  that  part  read,  "the  sons  of  the  Elders,  Dea- 
cons, and  Preachers." 

The  announcement  that:  "A  teacher  of  the  languages,  with 
an  assistant,  will  be  provided,"  was  amended  by  changing 
"with  an  assistant"  so  as  to  read:  "with  two  assistants." 
The  further  announcement  that  there  would  be  "also  an  Eng- 
lish master,  to  teach  with  the  utmost  propriety  both  to  read 
and  speak  in  the  English  language,"  was  slightly  changed  by 
taking  out  the  word  "in."  "To  lay  before  our  friends  the 
intent  of  the  College,"  was  made  to  read,  "To  lay  before  our 
friends  the  plan  of  the  Institution." 

Referring  to  employment  in  agriculture  as  one  of  the  recrea- 


44 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


tions  in  lieu  of  play,  the  Discipline  of  1791  said:  44  In  con- 
formity to  this  sentiment,  one  of  the  completest  poetic  pieces 
of  antiquity  (the  Georgics  of  Virgil)  is  written  on  the  subject 
of  husbandry;  by  the  perusal  of  which,  and  submission  to  the 
above  regulations,  the  students  delightfully  unite  the  theory 
and  practice  together."  This  was  subjected  to  a  single  amend- 
ment, which  has  the  insertion  of  the  word  4 'may"  before  the 
word  44 delightfully,"  so  that  the  clause  read:  44 the  students 
may  delightfully  unite  the  theory  and  practice  together." 

44  The  four  guineas  a  year  for  tuition,  we  are  persuaded,  can 
not  be  lowered,  if  we  give  the  students  that  finished  education 
which  we  are  determined  they  shall  have,"  became,  44  The 
eighteen  dollars  and  two-thirds  per  annum  for  tuition,"  etc. 

Several  changes  were  made  in  the  part  entitled,  44  General 
Rules  Concerning  the  College."  Thus  instead  of  44  two  tutors" 
the  revised  law  had  44  three  tutors."  44  The  price  of  education 
shall  be  four  guineas"  became:  44  The  price  of  .education  shall 
be  eighteen  dollars  and  two-thirds." 

The  following  new  rule  was  adopted:  44  The  rate  of  board- 
ing in  the  college  shall  be  sixty  dollars  per  annum."  This  was 
numbered  5,  and  was  followed  by  an  explanatory  note :  44  B. 
The  enhanced  price  of  several  of  the  necessaries  of  life  has 
obliged  us  to  raise  the  rate  of  boarding." 

The  only  other  changes  in  the  44  General  Rules  Concern- 
ing the  College"  was  the  change  of  the  spelling  of  44cloathed" 
in  the  sixth  and  seventh  rules  to  44  clothed." 

The  44  Rules  for  the  Economy  of  the  College  and  Students" 
underwent  some  amendment.  The  twenty-seventh  rule,  1791, 
read :  44  If  a  student  be  convicted  of  any  open  sin,  he  shall  for 
the  first  offense,  be  reproved  in  private;  for  the  second  offense, 
he  shall  be  reproved  in  public ;  and  for  the  third  offense,  he 
shall  be  punished  at  the  discretion  of  the  President;  if  incor- 
rigible, he  shall  be  expelled."  The  concluding  words,  44 if 
incorrigible,  he  shall  be  expelled,"  were  stricken  out  in  1792, 
probably  because  the  next  rule  provided  for  expulsion. 

The  thirty-first  and  thirty-second  rules  of  1791  were  as 
follows : 

31.  The  President  shall  be  the  judge  of  all  the  crimes  and  punish- 
ments, in  the  absence  of  the  Bishops. 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


15 


32.  But  the  President  shall  have  no  power  to  expel  a  student 
without  the  advice  and  consent  of  three  of  the  Trustees  ;  but  a  Bishop 
shall  have  that  power. 

The  rules  were  amended  and  combined  in  the  following 

rule: 

31.  The  President  shall  be  the  judge  of  all  crimes  and  punish- 
ments, in  the  absence  of  the  Bishops  and  the  Presiding  Elder;  and 
with  the  concurrence  of  two  of  the  tutors,  shall  have  power  to  dis- 
miss a  student,  if  he  judge  it  highly  necessary,  for  any  criminal  con- 
duct, or  for  refusing  to  submit  to  the  discipline  of  the  College  ;  or  to 
such  punishment  as  the  President  and  Tutors  judge  he  deserves. 

The  thirty-second  and  last  of  these  rules  of  1792  was  new. 
It  was :  ' 

32.  A  Committee  of  five  respectable  friends,  entitled  The  Com~ 
mittee  of  Safety,  shall  be  appointed,  who  shall  meet  once  in  every  fort- 
night. Three  of  these,  meeting  at  the  appointed  time,  shall  be 
sufficient  to  enter  upon  business,  and  shall  have  full  power  to  in- 
spect and  regulate  the  whole  Economy  of  the  College,  and  to  exam- 
ine the  characters  and  conduct  of  all  the  servants,  and  to  fix  their 
wages,  and  change  them  as  they  may  think  proper.  The  Committee 
shall  determine  every  thing  by  a  majority. 

CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

Section  IV,  "Of  Christian  Perfection,"  is  essentially  the 
same  as  Section  XXII  of  the  Discipline  of  1791;  but  in  1792 
some  changes  were  made.  The  old  title  of  the  section  was 
merely  "  Of  Perfection."  In  1792  the  qualifying  word  "  Chris- 
tian" was  inserted,  so  that  it  became:  "  Of  Christian  Perfec- 
tion." 

The  former  statement :  "  We  all  agree  to  defend  it,  meaning 
thereby  (as  we  did  from  the  beginning)  salvation  from  all  sin, 
by  the  love  of  God  and  man  filling  our  heart,"  became  in  1792 : 
"We  all  agree  to  defend  it,  meaning  thereby  (as  we  did  from 
the  beginning)  salvation  from  all  sin,  properly  so-called,  by 
the  love  of  God  and  man  filling  our  heart." 

"The  papists  say"  became  "Some  say,"  " Some  professors 
say"  became  "Others  say,"  and  the  following  "Others  say" 
became  "  But  others  say." 

The  passage :  "We  are  all  agreed,  we  may  be  saved  from  all 
sin  before  death,  properly  so-called,  sinful  tempers,  but  we  can 
not  always  speak  or  think  or  act  aright,  as  dwelling  in  houses 


46 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


of  clay,"  was  amended  by  striking  out  " properly  so-called," 
by  striking  out,  "but  we  can  not  always  speak  or  think  or  act 
aright,  as  dwelling  in  houses  of  clay,"  and  "i.  e.  from  all" 
was  inserted  before  the  words  "  sinful  tempers  "  and  the  words 
" and  desires"  after  "tempers,"  so  that  it  read:  "We  are  all 
agreed,  we  may  be  saved  from  all  sin  before  death,  i.  e.  from 
all  sinful  tempers  and  desires." 

ANTINOMIANISM. 

Section  V,  "Against  Antinomianism,"  is  the  same  as  Sec- 
tion XVI  of  the  Discipline  of  1791,  excepting  that  the  passage, 
"Labour  (ergazesthe),  literally,  ivork  for  the  meat  that  endureth 
to  everlasting  life,"  is  slightly  changed  by  putting  the  word 
ergazesthe  into  Greek  characters,  so  that  the  paragraph  read: 
"2.  With  regard  to  working  for  life,  which  our  Lord  expressly 
commands  us  to  do.  Labour  (epya£eaOe) ,  literally,  work  for  the 
meat  that  endureth  to  everlasting  life  And  in  fact,  every  be- 
liever, till  he  come  to  glory,  works  for,  as  well  as  from  life." 

PREDESTINATION. 

Section  VI,  on  the  "  Scripture  Doctrine  of  Predestination, 
Election,  and  Reprobation,"  is  exactly  the  same  as  Section 
XXXVII  in  the  Book  of  Discipline  for  1791.  It  is  a  doctrinal 
treatise  covering  more  than  thirteen  pages. 

THE  PERSEVERANCE  OF  BELIEVERS. 

Section  VII,  "Serious  Thoughts  on  the  Infallible,  L'ncon- 
ditional  Perseverance  of  all  that  have  once  Experienced  Faith 
in  Christ,"  is  a* tract  of  almost  sixteen  pages,  and  is  the  same 
as  Section  XXXVIII  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 

CHRISTIAN  PERFECTION. 

7  Section  VIII,  "Of  Christian  Perfection.  A  Plain  Account 
of  Christian  Perfection,  by  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,"  is  Wesley's 
treatise  on  Christian  Perfection.  It  covers  almost  sixty  pages, 
and  is  the  same  as  Section  XXXIX  of  the  Discipline  of  1791. 

BAPTISM. 

Section  IX,  "  Of  Baptism.  An  Extract  on  the  Nature  and 
Subjects  of  Christian  Baptism."  is  a  treatise  covering  some 
sixty-eight  pages.    It  is  divided  into  two  parts:   "The  First 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference, 


47 


Part — On  the  Nature  of  Christian  Baptism,"  and  "  The  Second 
Part — On  the  Subjects  of  Baptism."  It  is  the  same  as  Section 
XL  of  1791,  the  only  variation  being  that  baptizo  was  put 
into  Greek  letters — /iWn^co. 

RITUAL— SACRAMENTAL,  ORDINATION,  AND  OTHER 
SERVICES. 

Section  X,  "Sacramental  Services,"  etc.,  had  no  place  in 
the  Book  of  Discipline  of  1791.  The  forms  of  service  had 
heretofore  appeared  in  the  Service  Book,  called  "The  Sunday- 
Service  and  Other  Occasional  Services  for  the  Use  of  the 
Methodists  in  America,"  which  Mr.  "Wesley  had  prepared  in 
1784.  In  1792  they  were  for  the  first  time  inserted  in  the 
Book  of  Discipline. 

The  section  contains  the  following  services:  "The  Order 
for  the  Administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  "The  Minis- 
tration of  Baptism  of  Infants,"  "The  Ministration  of  Baptism 
to  such  as  are  of  Riper  Years,"  "The  Form  of  Solemnization 
of  Matrimony,"  "The  Order  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead,"  and 
"The  Form  and  Manner  of  Making  and  Ordaining  of  Bishops, 
Elders,  and  Deacons,"  including  "The  Form  and  Manner  of 
Making  Deacons,"  "The  Form  and  Manner  of  Ordaining  of 
Elders,"  and  "The  Form  of  Ordaining  a  Bishop." 

ARTICLES  OF  RELIGION. 

The  Articles  of  Religion  appeared  as  Section  XXXVI  in 
the  Discipline  of  1791 ;  but  in  the  Discipline  of  1792  they 
were  placed  as  Section  II  of  the  first  chapter.  They  were  un- 
changed except  by  the  correction  of  a  couple  of  typograph- 
ical errors  which  had  crept  into  the  Discipline  of  1791  in  Ar- 
ticle "XIV.  Of  Purgatory."  In  the  edition  of  1791  oc- 
curred the  phrase:  "as  well  of  imagesdas  of  reliques."  This 
plainly  was  a  misprint,  and  was  corrected  to  read:  "as  well  of 
images  as  of  reliques."  So  in  the  same  article  there  appeared : 
"  and  also  invocation  of  saints,  is  a  fon  thing  vainly  invented." 
The  letter  "d"  had  dropped  out.  In  1792  the  missing  letter 
was  supplied  so  that  it  read :  "is  a  fond  thing  vainly  in- 
vented. " 


48 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


HISTORICAL  STATEMENTS. 

In  the  Book  of  Discipline  for  1791  there  were  two  sec- 
tions which  presented  brief  statements  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  of  the  authority  of  its  epis- 
copacy. 

The  first  appeared  as  Section  II  of  the  Discipline  of  1791 
with  the  title:  4 4  Of  the  Nature  and  Constitution  of  our 
Church."  It  was  as  follows:  44  We  are  thoroughly  convinced 
that  the  Church  of  England,  to  which  we  have  been  united, 
is  deficient  in  several  of  the  most  important  parts  of  Christian 
discipline ;  and  that  (a  few  ministers  and  members  excepted)  it 
has  lost  the  life  and  power  of  religion.  We  are  not  ignorant  of 
the  spirit  and  designs  it  has  ever  discovered  in  Europe ;  of  rising 
to  pre-eminence  and  worldly  dignities  by  virtue  of  a  national 
establishment,  and  by  the  most  servile  devotion  to  the  will  of 
temporal  governors ;  and  we  fear  the  same  spirit  will  lead  the 
same  Church  in  these  United  States  (although  altered  in  its 
name)  to  similar  designs  and  attempts,  if  the  number  and 
strength  of  its  members  will  ever  afford  a  probability  of  success ; 
and  particularly,  to  obtain  a  national  establishment,  which  we 
cordially  abhor  as  the  great  bane  of  truth  and  holiness,  and 
consequently  a  great  impediment  to  the  progress  of  vital 
Christianity. 

44  For  these  reasons,  wc  have  thought  it  our  duty  to  form 
ourselves  into  an  independent  church..  And  as  the  most  ex- 
cellent mode  of  church-government,  according  to  our  maturest 
judgment,  is  that  of  a  moderate  episcopacy;  and  as  we  are 
persuaded,  that  the  uninterrupted  succession  of  Bishops  from 
the  Apostles  can  be  proved  neither  from  scripture  nor  antiq- 
uity; we  therefore  have  constituted  ourselves  into  an  Episco-^c 
pal  church,  under  the  direction  of  Bishops,  Elders,  Deacons, 
and  Preachers,  according  to  the  forms  of  ordination  annexed  to 
our  prayer-book,  and  the  regulations  laid  down  in  the  form 
of  discipline." 

This  was  followed  by  44  Section  III.  Of  the  constituting 
of  Bishops,  and  their  Duty." 


1792.] 


The  General  Conference. 


49 


Under  this  head  the  first  question  and  answer  were  as 
follows : 

Quest.  1.  What  is  the  proper  origin  of  the  episcopal  authority  in 
our  Church? 

Answ.  In  the  year  1784  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  who,  under  God, 
has  been  the  father  of  the  great  revival  of  religion  now  extending 
over  the  earth  by  the  means  of  the  Methodists,  determined  at  the 
intercession  of  multitudes  of  his  spiritual  children  on  this  continent, 
to  ordain  ministers  for  America,  and  for  this  purpose  sent  over  three 
regularly  ordained  clergy ;  but  preferring  the  episcopal  mode  of 
church-government  to  any  other,  he  solemnly  set  apart,  by  the  impo- 
sition of  his  hands  and  prayer,  one  of  them,  viz.,  Thomas  Coke, 
Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  late  of  Jesus-College,  in  the  university  of 
Oxford,  for  the  episcopal  office ;  and  having  delivered  to  him  letters 
of  episcopal  orders,  commissioned  and  directed  him  to  set  apart 
Francis  Asbury,  then  general  assistant  of  the  Methodist  society  in  . 
America,  for  the  same  episcopal  office,  he  the  said  Francis  Asbury 
being  first  ordained  deacon  and  elder.  In  consequence  of  which  the 
said  Francis  Asbury  was  solemnly  set  apart  for  the  said  episcopal 
office  by  prayer  and  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  said  Thomas 
Coke,  other  regularly  ordained  ministers  assisting  in  the  sacred  cere- 
mony. At  which  time  the  general  conference,  held  at  Baltimore,  did 
unanimously  receive  the  said  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury  as 
their  bishops,  being  fully  satisfied  of  the  validity  of  their  episcopal 
ordination. 

In  the  Discipline  of  1792  these  statements  do  not  appear  as 
two  separate  sections;  but,  with  some  changes,  are  condensed 
into  one  section,  and  appear  as  the  first  section  of  the  first 
chapter,  as  follows : 

SECTION  I. 
Of  the  Origin  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  Preachers  and  Members  of  our  Society  in  general,  being  con- 
vinced that  there  was  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  religion  in  the  Church 
of  England  in  America,  and  being  in  many  places  destitute  of  the 
Christian  sacraments,  as  several  of  the  Clergy  had  forsaken  their 
churches,  requested  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley  to  take  such  measures 
in  his  wisdom  and  prudence  as  would  afford  them  suitable  relief  in 
their  distress. 

In  consequence  of  this,  our  venerable  friend,  who,  under  God, 
had  been  the  father  of  the  great  revival  of  religion  now  extending 
over  the  earth  by  the  means  of  the  Methodists,  determined  to  ordain 
ministers  for  America;  and  for  this  purpose,  in  the  year  1784,  sent 
over  three  regularly  ordained  clergy;  but  preferring  the  episcopal 
mode  of  church-government  to  any  other,  he  solemnly  set  apart,  by 


4 


50 


The  General  Conference. 


[1792. 


the  imposition  of  his  hands  and  prayer,  one  of  them,  viz.,  Thomas 
Coke,  Doctor  of  Civil  Law,  late  of  Jesus-College  in  the  university  of 
Oxford,  and  a  Presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  for  the  episcopal 
office ;  and  having  delivered  to  him  letters  of  episcopal  orders,  com- 
missioned and  directed  him  to  set  apart  Francis  Asbury,  then  general 
assistant  of  the  Methodist  society  in  America,  for  the  same  epis- 
copal office,  he  the  said  Francis  Asbury  being  first  ordained  deacon  and 
elder.  In  consequence  of  which  the  said  Francis  Asbury  was  sol- 
emnly set  apart  for  the  said  episcopal  office,  by  prayer  and  thei 
imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  said  Thomas  Coke,  other  regularly 
ordained  ministers  assisting  in  the  sacred  ceremony.  At  which 
time  the  general  conference,  held  at  Baltimore,  did  unanimously 
receive  the  said  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury  as  their  bishops, 
being  fully  satisfied  of  the  validity  of  their  episcopal  ordination. 

With  the  exception  of  the  table  of  contents,  this  ended  the 
Discipline  of  1792. 

ADJOURNMENT. 

The  General  Conference  of  1792  remained  in  session  fif- 
teen full  days.  Having  completed  its  work,  it  adjourned  in 
the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  fifteenth  of  November,  and 
that  night  Bishop  Coke  preached  on  "Pure  Religion  and  Un- 
defiled." 

Thus  ended  this  most  important  General  Conference. 


1796. 


rpHE  General  Conference  of  1796  met  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more,  on  Thursday,  October  20th.  Of  two  hundred  and 
ninety-three  preachers  belonging  to  the  Connexion,  only  one 
hundred  and  twenty  were  in  attendance,  though  two  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  were  entitled  to  membership  in  that  body. 
No  list  was  kept  of  the  preachers  present,  but  the  majority  of 
them  were  from  the  nearer  circuits  and  districts. 

Those  who  composed  the  Conference  were  well  trained  in 
Methodism,  and  spent  no  time  in  "contentions  and  strivings 
about  the  law."  Their  single  aim  was  to  promote  the  interests 
of  the  Church,  the  spiritual  welfare  of  its  members,  and  the 
glory  of  God.  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  presided.  The  session 
was  one  of  great  harmony,  and  continued  for  two  weeks,  ad- 
journing on  November  3d.  The  principal  subjects  which  de- 
manded attention  were  the  proper  support  of  the  ministry, 
the  number  of  yearly  conferences  to  be  held,  the  titles  to 
Church  property,  and  the  employment  of  local  preachers. 

During  this  session,  as  in  the  previous  one,  the  religious 
element  was  prominent,  and  through  the  preaching  of  the 
bishops  and  the  other  ministers,  many  souls  were  awakened  and 
converted.  God  abundantly  blessed  the  labors  of  his  servants 
to  the  people  of  Baltimore,  and  the  results  were  seen  after 
many  days. 

Dr.  Coke  brought  with  him  from  the  British  Conference 
an  affectionate  address  to  "the  General  Conference  of  the  peo- 
ple called  Methodists,  in  America,"  to  which  an  answer  was 
prepared,  to  be  presented  by  the  same  messenger  on  his  return 
to  England.  Both  Conferences  rejoiced  in  the  instruments 
chosen  by  infinite  Wisdom  to  carry  on  the  work,  and  rejoiced 
that  God  had  raised  up  their  late  father  in  the  gospel,  the 
Beverend  John  Wesley,  to  organize  a  new  society  of  faithful 
men  to  promote  the  revival  of  religion  among  the  people.  The 
American  brethren  say: 

"  We  admire  with  you  the  method  God  is  taking  to  beat  down 
the  pride  of  philosophy,  even  by  choosing  the  foolish  things  of  the 

51 


52 


The  General  Conference. 


[1796. 


world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  that  are  mighty ;  and  this  is  agreeable  to  the 
method  of  God's  proceedings  in  the  purest  times  of  Christianity.  At 
the  same  time  the  Lord  has  not  left  us  without  men,  who,  when  nec- 
essary, are  able  to  contend  against  that  vain  philosophy  with  its  own 
weapons  of  logical  arguments,  and  with  success;  though  we  are 
sensible  how  far  we  are  inferior  to  you,  our  elder  brethren,  in  this 
respect." 

The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  limited  to  six, 
though  the  bishops,  if  they  should  deem  it  necessary,  were 
authorized  to  form  a  seventh  in  the  province  of  Maine.  Here- 
tofore the  number  of  yearly  conferences  to  be  held  was  in- 
definite. These  conferences  were  sometimes  very  meager,  con- 
sisting of  the  preachers  of  a  single  district  only,  or  of  one  or 
two  small  ones.  Thus  in  1789  Bishop  Asbury  held  eleven  con- 
ferences, and  in  1790,  fourteen;  in  1791  he  held  thirteen,  and 
in  1792,  seventeen.  In  1793,  there  were  twenty,  and  the  next 
year,  fourteen;  but  in  1795,  the  number  fell  to  seven.  To  hold 
such  small  conferences,  says  the  Journal,  "was  attended  with 
many  inconveniences;  1.  There  were  but  few  of  the  senior 
preachers  whose  years  and  experience  'had  matured  their  judg- 
ments, who  could  be  present  at  any  one  conference;  2.  The 
conferences  wanted  that  dignity  which  every  religious  synod 
should  possess,  and  which  always  accompanies  a  large  assembly 
of  gospel  ministers;  3.  The  itinerant  plan  was  exceedingly 
cramped,  from  the  difficulty  of  removing  preachers  from  one 
district  to  another."  To  these  considerations  the  Conference 
adds  a  fourth:  "that  the  active,  zealous,  unmarried  preachers 
may  move  on  a  larger  scale,  and  preach  the  ever-blessed  gospel 
far  more  extensively  through  the  sixteen  states,  and  other  parts 
of  the  continent;  whilst  the  married  preachers,  whose  circum- 
stances require  them  in  many  instances  to  be  more  located  than 
the  single  men,  will  have  a  considerable  field  of  action  opened 
to  them,  and  also  the  bishops  will  be  able  to  attend  the  confer- 
ences with  greater  ease,  and  without  injury  to  their  health." 

The  six  yearly  conferences  thus  established  by  the  General 
Conference  were  as  follows:  1.  The  New  England  Conference, 
covering  all  of  New  England  and  New  York  east  of  the  Hud- 
son river.  2.  Philadelphia,  covering  the  remainder  of  New 
York,  and  all  of  Pennsylvania  east  of  the  Susquehannah  river, 


1796.] 


The  General  Conference. 


53 


the  state  of  Delaware,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  Peninsula.  3.  The 
Baltimore,  covering  the  remainder  of  Maryland  and  the  north- 
ern neck  of  Virginia.  4.  The  Virginia,  for  all  that  part  of  Vir- 
ginia which  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  Rappahannock  river, 
and  that  part  of  North  Carolina  lying  on  the  north  side  of  Cape 
Fear  river,  including  also  the  circuits  situated  on  the  branches 
of  the  Yadkin.  5.  The  South  Carolina,  embracing  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgia,  and  the  remainder  of  North  Carolina.  6.  The 
Western,  for  the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

From  this  review  it  will  be  seen  how  widely  the  work  of 
the  itinerancy  extended;  and  yet  it  was  foreseen  that  it  would 
grow  within  these  limits,  and  expand  even  beyond  them.  Hence 
the  Conference  added  a  proviso,  "that  the  bishops  shall  have 
authority  to  appoint  other  yearly  conferences  in  the  interval 
of  the  General  Conference,  if  a  sufficiency  of  new  circuits  be 
anywhere  formed  for  that  purpose."  The  work  did,  indeed, 
spread;  and  in  less  than  two  years  it  had  entered  the  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  and  covered  portions  of  the  states  not 
hitherto  occupied.  Seven  conferences  were  held  in  1798,  and 
the  same  number  in  1799,  in  which  year  there  were  272  preach- 
ers in  the  Connexion.  "So  mightily  grew  the  word  of  God 
and  prevailed." 

Several  alterations  were  made  in  the  form  of  Discipline,  and 
some  new  regulations  added.  It  was  determined  that  the  con- 
ferences which  had  heretofore  been  called  "district  conferences," 
though  they  were  held  only  once  a  year,  should  be  known  as 
"yearly  conferences."  The  preachers  on  trial  were  to  continue 
on  their  circuits  during  the  times  when  these  annual  conferences 
sat,  so  as  not  to  leave  the  people  without  the  services  of  the 
Church,  and  none  were  to  attend  the  conference,  however  near, 
except  those  who  were  in  full  connexion,  or  who  were  about  to 
be  so  received. 

•  For  the  first  time  the  Conference  caused  to  be  inserted  in 
the  Discipline  a  form  of  deed  for  conveying  and  securing 
Church  property.  This  form  was  intended  to  be  applicable  in 
all  the  states,  subject  to  such  modifications  as  the  separate 
state  laws  might  require.  The  Conference  directed  that  it 
should  be  provided  in  every  deed,  charter  or  conveyance,  that 
the  trustees  of  all  our  meeting-houses  permit  such  ministers  and 


54 


The  General  Conference. 


[1796. 


preachers  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as 
shall  from  time  to  time  be  duly  authorized  by  the  General 
Conference  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church,  or  by  the  annual 
conferences,  to  preach  and  expound  God's  holy  word,  to  exe- 
cute the  discipline  of  the  Church  and  to  administer  the  sacra- 
ments therein,  according  to  the  true  meaning  and  purport  of 
the  deed  of  settlement;  that  is,  the  instrument  by  which  the 
property  is  conveyed  to  the  trustees. 

At  this  Conference  it  was  thought  by  many  that  the  number 
of  the  bishops  should  be  increased,  for  the  more  perfect  over- 
sight of  the  Methodist  societies.  Dr.  Coke  had  given  very 
little  of  his  time  to  this  work,  and  he  was  not  naturalized  as  a 
citizen.  His  visits  to  the  conferences  were  casual  and  irregu- 
lar; and  when  he  was  present,*  the  responsibility  of  stationing 
the  preachers  on  their  circuits  devolved  wholly  on  Bishop 
Asbury.  For  this  reason  the  Conference  voted  that  one  more 
bishop  was  necessary;  but  a  difficulty  arose  as  to  the  manner  of 
his  appointment.  Eichard  Whatcoat  had  previously  been  desig- 
nated by  Mr.  Wesley  as  a  joint  superintendent  with  Francis 
Asbury;  but  the  American  preachers  had  never  accepted  him 
as  such,  nor  was  Dr.  Coke  allowed  to  ordain  him.  In  this 
emergency,  and  before  the  matter  was  settled,  Dr.  Coke  begged 
that  the  business  might  be  laid  over  half  a  day.  This  was 
accordingly  done;  and  when  the  Conference  again  assembled, 
the  Doctor  in  a  written  communication  offered  himself  to  the 
American  Connexion,  if  the  brethren  saw  fit  to  take  him,  as 
a  permanent  superintendent. 

The  Conference  agreed  to  Dr.  Coke's  proposal,  and  con- 
cluded, if  he  tarried  with  them,  that  there  would  be  no  need 
of  another  bishop,  and  so  let  the  question  drop.  That  the 
Doctor  made  this  offer  in  good  faith,  there  can  be  no  doubt; 
but  circumstances  abroad  prevented  his  carrying  out  his  design 
to  give  his  "talents  and  labors  in  every  respect,  without  any 
mental  reservation  whatsoever,  to  labor  among  them,  and  to 
assist  Bishop  Asbury." 

Provision  was  made  for  the  distressed  traveling  preachers, 
for  their  families,  and  for  superannuated  and  worn-out  preach- 
ers, and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  preachers,  by 
establishing  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Chartered  Fund." 


The  General  Conference. 


55 


The  support  of  the  traveling  preachers  at  the  best  was  scanty, 
for  the  allowance  made  to  them  was  only  sixty-four  dollars 
a  year;  and  hence  in  all  the  early  conferences  we  find  so  many 
names  enrolled  in  answer  to  the  question,  "Who  desist  from 
traveling  in  connexion  with  or  under  the  direction  of  our  con- 
ference?" or,  "Who  are  under  a  location  through  weakness  of 
body  or  family  concerns?"  Two  years  before  this  Conference 
twenty-eight  preachers  are  so  reported,  and  in  1795  thirty-two 
are  reported  as  located.  Many  of  these  returned  to  the  travel- 
ing ranks  when  their  temporal  circumstances  improved,  or  their 
health  was  restored. 

The  Conference  elected  nine  trustees  for  the  fund  above 
named,  and  authorized  them  to  effect  an  organization  and  pro- 
cure a  charter  from  the  legislature  of  Pennsylvania.  They 
were  directed  to  hold  an  annual  meeting  for  the  transaction 
of  their  business  in  Philadelphia,  or  at  such  other  place  as  a 
majority  of  them  might  judge  most  convenient  and  proper, 
and  to  fix  the  time  thereof.  This  fund  became  the  means  of 
furnishing  relief  to  many  who  were  otherwise  ill  supported, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Church  willingly  contributed  towards  it. 
Several  thousand  dollars  were  in  a  short  time  subscribed  and 
paid  in,  and  a  few  valuable  legacies  were  left  to  it.  During 
the  hundred  years  of  its  existence  it  has  accomplished  great 
good;  but  the  fund  ought  to  be  many  times  larger  than  it  is  to 
accomplish  fully  the  end  of  its  organization. 

As  the  Arminian  Magazine,  two  volumes  of  which  were 
printed  in  Philadelphia  in  1789  and  1790,  was  discontinued 
for  want  of  patronage,  the  Conference  felt  that  there  ought  to 
be  some  method  of  propagating  religious  knowledge  in  print 
more  largely  than  by  books.  It  therefore  recommended  that  a 
new  monthly  periodical  be  established,  to  be  called  The  Meth- 
odist Magazine,  to  consist  of  compilations  from  the  British 
magazines  and  of  original  accounts  of  the  experience  of  pious 
persons.  In  accordance  with  this  recommendation,  the  Book- 
steward,  John  Dickins,  began  the  new  publication,  and  issued 
two  volumes,  when  the  enterprise  failed  for  the  same  reason  as 
the  previous  venture  had  failed.  Evidently  the  time  had  not 
come  when  such  a  publication  could  be  supported.  It  certainly 
was  not  that  our  people  were  less  intellectual  than  at  present ; 


56  The  General  Conference.  [1796. 

but  mail  facilities  were  few  and  money  was  scarce,  except  in  the 
larger  towns  and  in  the  cities. 

In  the  matter  of  education  great  interest  was  taken.  Dr. 
Coke  and  Bishop  Asbury  were  both  good  scholars,  the  latter 
carrying  with  him  his  Hebrew  Bible  and  the  Greek  Xew  Testa- 
ment, that  he  might  study  them  at  spare  moments  on  his  jour- 
neys; and  almost  the  first  thing  they  did  after  Dr.  Coke's  ar- 
rival in  America  in  IT 84  was  to  consult  together  about  the 
establishment  of  a  school  or  college  for  the  training  of  Meth- 
odist youth.  John  Dickins,  an  Eton  scholar,  had  urged  this 
several  years  previously.  At  the  Christmas  Conference  of  that 
year  a  plan  was  devised  for  erecting  such  a  college,  and  a  pro- 
spectus was  published  over  the  signatures  of  the  two  bishops, 
asking  for  contributions  and  gifts  towards  the  object.  The 
school  was  established  at  Abingdon,  Md.,  and  was  known  as 
Cokesbury  College,  so  named  after  its  two  founders.  A  sub- 
scription of  over  one  thousand  pounds  sterling — (money  was 
still  reckoned  mostly  after  the  English  method) — had  already 
been  secured.  The  building  was  erected  of  brick  on  a  com- 
manding site,  containing  six  acres  of  ground,  and  was  one 
hundred  and  eight  feet  in  length  by  forty  in  breadth  from 
north  to  south.  As  soon  as  the  house  was  in  order  for  the 
school  to  begin,  even  before  any  of  the  rooms  were  finished,  a 
few  scholars  were  collected,  and  a  master  provided  to  teach 
them.  At  first  the  institution  was  managed  by  the  Confer- 
ence ;  but  it  was  afterward  incorporated,  and  trustees  appointed 
to  care  for  it. 

The  institution  was  prosperous,  and  good  work  was  done 
in  it.  The  rules  established  by  the  Conference  for  its  govern- 
ment were  of  the  most  ascetic  order, — the  only  recreations  al- 
lowed the  boys  being  gardening,  walking,  riding,  and  bathing 
under  open  skies  in  a  convenient  pool,  but  not  in  the  river. 
They  were  also  allowed  to  work  in  a  wood-manufacturing  shop 
at  carpenter's,  joiner's,  cabinet-maker's,  or  turner's  business. 
Their  hours  of  sleeping,  eating,  worship,  study,  rest,  and  recit- 
ing were  all  fixed.  With  all  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  them, 
the  boys  were  cheerful  and  happy,  and  benefited  by  the  training 
they  received. 

The  school  continued  in  operation  for  ten  years,  when  the 


17(J0.J  The  General  Conference.  57 

building  was  unfortunately  burned.  It  had  been  a  source  of 
anxiety  and  trouble  to  Bishop  Asbury  to  support  it,  and  though 
its  structure  and  maintenance  had  cost  ten  thousand  pounds, 
the  bishop  declared  that  he  would  not  go  through  the  same 
vexations  with  regard  to  it  again  for  that  much  a  year.  The 
work  of  the  Church  was  felt  to  be  rather  the  evangelization 
of  the  people  than  the  instruction  of  their  youth,  though  the 
latter  was  not  neglected  because  of  the  misfortune  at  Cokes- 
bury.  Schools  were  planted  in  Georgia,  Kentucky,  and  else- 
where, and  colleges  and  universities  followed  in  due  time. 

With  regard  to  local  preachers,  it  was  ordered  that  no  one 
should  receive  a  license  to  preach  until  he  had  been  examined 
and  approved  at  the  quarterly  meeting  of  his  circuit.  He  was 
also  to  bring  a  recommendation  from  the  society  of  which  he . 
was  a  member,  and  after  he  had  preached  for  four  years  from 
the  time  of  his  receiving  license,  he  was  eligible  to  the  office 
of  a  deacon.  A  local  preacher  employed  to  fill  the  place  of  a 
traveling  preacher  was  to  receive  for  his  service  a  sum  pro- 
portionable to  the  salary  of  the  traveling  preacher.  If  brought 
to  trial  for  any  misdemeanor,  heresy,  or  alleged  immorality,  he 
was  to  be  tried  by  a  committee  of  local* preachers;  or,  for  want 
of  local  preachers,  exhorters  or  class-leaders.  If  found  guilty 
by  the  committee,  and  in  consequence  suspended,  his  case  was 
to  be  referred  to  the  ensuing  quarterly  meeting;  and  if  this 
meeting  should  deem  the  said  local  preacher,  deacon,  or  elder 
culpable,  the  next  quarterly  meeting  thereafter  was  to  proceed 
with  his  trial,  and  have  authority  to  clear,  censure,  suspend,  or 
expel  him  according 'to  their  judgment.  In  case  of  condemna- 
tion, he  was  allowed  an  appeal  to  the  next  annual  conference. 
The  Conference  says  in  its  minutes: 

"  By  this  mode  of  trial,  we  are  desirous  of  showing  the  most 
tender  regard  towards  our  local  brethren .  We  are  all  but  men.  The 
best  of  us  may  fall  into  sin,  or  be  drawn  into  dangerous  and  pernicious 
errors,  and  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  stop  the  plague  by  an  imme- 
diate stroke  of  discipline.  But  we  would  not  have  so  important  a 
character  as  that  of  one  of  our  local  brethren  even  touched  to  its 
disadvantage  by  only  one  preacher,  who  possibly  might  be  younger 
than  the  accused.  We  have  therefore  provided  that  a  small  meeting 
of  respectable  persons  shall  be  held  before  a  single  step  be  taken  in 
the  business.   The  trial  will  then  come  before  the  most  weighty 


58  The  General  Conference.  [17SM5. 

assembly  in  the  circuit.  We  have  directed  the  yearly  conference, 
upon  an  appeal,  to  determine  upon  the  merits  of  the  cause,  from  the 
memorial  of  the  quarterly  meeting,  on  account  of  the  difficulty,  if 
not  the  impossibility  of  bringing  the  necessary  witnesses,  perhaps 
thirty,  fifty,  or  an  hundred  miles  from  their  home.  Nor  have  we  any 
right  or  authority  to  lay  such  a  burden  on  any  of  our  people.  In 
short,  we  have  done  the  best  we  can,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed." 

The  rule  on  the  subject  of  marriage  was  modified,  so  as  not 
absolutely  to  prohibit,  under  penalty  of  expulsion,  any  member 
from  marrying  a  person  not  awakened,  or  not  a  member  of  the 
society.  If  such  a  person  has  the  form  of  godliness,  and  is 
seeking  the  power  thereof,  there  is  little  objection;  but  if  mem- 
bers "marry  persons  who  do  not  come  up  to  this  description, 
we  shall  be  obliged,"  says  the  Conference,  "to  purge  our  society 
of  them ;  and  even  in  a  doubtful  case,  the  member  of  our  society 
shall  be  put  back  upon  trial/'' 

The  Conference  adjourned  to  meet  in  Baltimore  on  the 
20th  of  October  in  the  year  1S00.  The  Minutes  were  printed 
in  the  Discipline  of  1797,  and  cover  twenty-three  pages,  16mo, 
two  of  which  are  occupied  by  the  Pastoral  Address. 


1800. 


THE  General  Conference  for  the  year  1800  met  in  Baltimore 
on  Tuesday,  May  6th.  It  had  been  ordered  by  the  pre- 
ceding General  Conference  that  this  one  should  convene  on  the 
20th  day  of  October;  but  as  in  that  month  of  the  year  for  two 
or  three  seasons  past  the  yellow  fever  had  prevailed  in  Balti- 
more and  other  sea-port  towns,  it  was  doubtful  whether  many 
of  the  preachers  would  venture  to  come  together.  For  this 
reason  Mr.  Asbury,  by  the  advice  of  certain  judicious  friends, 
laid  the  matter  before  the  yearly  conferences  of  1799,  and  they 
decided  that  it  was  highly  necessary  to  change  the  date  for 
meeting,  and  accordingly  fixed  it  for  May  6th. 

When  the  Conference  assembled,  therefore,  the  members 
present  at  once  passed  the  following  resolution,  reciting  the 
action  just  named: 

"Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference,  now  met  according  to 
the  above  alteration  and  appointment,  do  unanimously  approve  of 
the  said  alteration,  and  ratify  it  accordingly." 

The  Conference  elected  Nicholas  Snethen  secretary,  and 
passed  rules  of  order  for  its  government.  Dr.  Coke  read  an 
address  from  the  British  Conference,  and  explained  the  portions 
of  it  that  related  to  himself,  respecting  his  return  to  Europe. 
He  said  the  address  was  not  his  own,  and  that  he  was  not  even 
consulted  in  its  preparation;  he  would  now  leave  the  decision 
of  the  case  entirely  with  the  Conference,  as  he  viewed  himself 
only  their  servant  for  Jesus'  sake. 

The  request  of  the  British  Conference  to  allow  Dr.  Coke 
to  return  to  Europe,  after  being  debated  two  or  three  days,  was, 
by  a  large  majority,  granted ;  upon  condition  that  he  come  back 
to  America  as  soon  as  his  business  would  allow,  but  certainly 
by  the  next  General  Conference. 

It  appears  from  the  record  that  Mr.  Asbury — the  title  of 
Bishop  in  the  earlier  days  of  our  Church  history  was  seldom 
given  to  the  general  superintendents  in  speaking  of  or  address- 
ing them;  but  only  "Mr."  or  "Bro." — desired  to  vacate  his 


60  The  General  Conference.  [1800. 


office,  fearing  that  the  General  Conference  was  not  satisfied 
with  his  former  services.  He  said  that  his  affliction  since  the 
last  General  Conference  had  been  such  that  he  was  under  the 
necessity  of  having  a  colleague  to  travel  with  him;  that  his 
great  debility  had  obliged  him  to  locate  several  times,  and 
that  he  could  travel  only  in  a  carriage;  and  he  did  not  know 
whether  this  General  Conference,  as  a  body,  were  satisfied  with 
such  parts  of  his  conduct.  Whereupon,  on  motion  of  Ezekiel 
Cooper,  it  was  unanimously 

"Resolved,  1.  That  this  General  Conference  consider  themselves 
under  many  and  great  obligations  to  Mr.  Asbury  for  the  many  and 
great  services  he  has  rendered  to  this  connexion. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  this  General  Conference  do  earnestly  entreat 
a  continuation  of  Mr.  Asbury's  services  as  one  of  the  general  super- 
intendents of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  as  far  as  his  strength 
will  permit." 

The  question  of  electing  an  additional  bishop  came  up  on 
motion  of  William  Burke,  who  advocated  the  election  of  two 
more  bishops;  but  the  matter  was  deferred  until  it  could  be 
ascertained  whether  Bishop  Asbury  needed  any  help,  and,  if 
any,  what  that  help  should  be. 

The  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund  at  Philadelphia  pre- 
sented a  report  of  their  doings,  together  with  the  accounts  of 
the  fund;  and  Lemuel  Green  and  Henry  Foxall  were  elected 
trustees  in  the  place  of  Cornelius  Comegys,  resigned,  and  John 
Dickins,  deceased. 

A  rule  of  the  Discipline,  requiring  preachers  to  count  the 
value  of  presents  made  to  them  personally,  as  a  part  of  their 
allowance,  was  by  a  two-thirds  vote  stricken  out. 

From  the  fact  that  much  time  was  consumed  by  the  preach- 
ers in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  General  Conference, 
and  in  attending  its  sessions,  thus  necessitating  their  absence 
from  their  charges  from  four  to  six  weeks,  a  motion  was  made 
to  substitute  a  delegated  Conference  instead  of  a  mass  General 
Conference.    This  motion  was  promptly  negatived. 

The  motion  for  assistance  to  be  granted  to  Mr.  Asbury  was 
called  up,  and  divided  into  two  parts  for  consideration:  1.  Shall 
any  assistance  be  given?  and  2.  What  shall  that  assistance  be? 
The  answer  to  the  first  question  was  in  the  affirmative:  but  in 


1800.]  The  General  Conference.  61 


answer  to  the  second  question,  a  very  great  majority  appeared 
in  favor  of  "one  bishop  to  be  elected  and  ordained." 

On  motion  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  the  election  of  bishop  was 
ordered  to  be  taken  as  follows:  It  was  to  be  by  written  ballots 
which  were  to  be  deposited  by  the  electors  in  a  box  or  drawer. 
The  person  receiving  the  greatest  number  of  votes,  provided 
that  was  a  majority  of  the  whole,  was  the  one  to  be  elected. 
But  if  there  was  not  a  majority  of  the  whole  Conference  for 
any  one,  then  the  Conference  should  vote  again,  and  choose 
by  ballot  from  the  four  highest  on  the  list.  If  no  one  should 
then  have  a  majority  the  vote  was  to  be  again  taken,  the  ballots 
being  limited  to  the  three  highest;  and  if  none  of  the  three 
was  elected,  the  Conference  should  vote  for  the  two  highest 
of  the  three  until  one  should  have  the  majority. 

Bishop  Asbury  was  authorized  to  take  with  him  an  elder 
as  a  traveling  companion  and  helper,  through  any  part,  or  all, 
of  his  travels.  There  was  a  discussion  on  the  authority  to 
belong  to  the  new  bishop,  and  various  propositions  on  the  sub- 
ject were  made.  Dr.  Coke  suggested  that  when  Bishop  Asbury 
was  absent,  the  additional  bishop  should  bring  into  the  Con- 
ference the  list  of  appointments  to  be  made,  and  read  it,  so 
that  he  might  hear  what  the  preachers  had  to  say,  and  revise 
it  accordingly.  Mr.  McClaskey  wanted  the  Conference  to  de- 
termine whether  he  should  be  the  equal  or  the  subordinate  of 
Bishop  Asbury;  and  Mr.  Wells  thought  he  should  be  aided  in 
making  the  appointments  by  a  committee  of  three  or  four 
preachers.  These  various  propositions  concerning  the  new 
bishop  were  withdrawn  by  consent,  and  certain  others,  such  as 
the  length  of  time  required  for  an  elder  to  travel  before  he 
should  be  eligible  to  the  episcopacy,  the  requirement  that  all 
the  bishops  should  be  present  at  every  Conference,  and  that 
they  shall  mutually  determine  and  agree  upon  their  several 
different  routes  to  the  ensuing  conference,  were  voted  down. 
The  Conference  then  proceeded  to  the  election.  Upon  the 
first  ballot  there  was  found  to  be  a  tie  vote,  and  it  was  therefore 
supposed  to  be  defective;  but  upon  the  second  ballot,  Eichard 
Whatcoat  received  59  votes  and  Jesse  Lee  55,  and  there  was 
one  vote  blank;  so,  the  former  having  received  a  clear  majority 
of  all  the  ballots,  was  declared  elected.    From  this  vote  it  ap- 


62 


The  General  Conference. 


[1800. 


pears  that  there  were  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifteen  members 
of  the  Conference  present. 

The  salary  of  the  preachers  was  raised  from  sixty-four  to 
eighty  dollars  a  year.    This  amount  was  exclusive  of  the  sums 
estimated  for  the  living  expenses  (travel,  house-rent,  food,  cloth- 
ing, horse-feed,  etc.)  of  the  preacher  and  his  family — always 
.little  enough  at  the  best. 

The  matter  of  slavery  and  the  condition  of  the  slaves  was 
brought  before  the  Conference;  but  after  due  deliberation  no 
new  rule  was  enacted  upon  the  subject;  but  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  prepare  an  affectionate  address  to  the  Methodist 
societies  in  the  United  States,  setting  forth  the  evils  of  the 
spirit  and  practice  of  slavery,  and  the  importance  of  doing  away 
the  evil,  so  far  as  the  laws  of  the  respective  states  would  allow; — 
the  said  address  to  be  laid  before  the  Conference  for  their  con- 
sideration, and,  if  agreed  to  by  the  Conference,  to  be  signed  in 
their  behalf  by  the  bishops.  A  committee  was  also  ordered  to 
be  appointed  by  each  of  the  several  annual  conferences,  to  draw 
up  and  present  to  the  state  legislatures  from  year  to  year  pe- 
titions asking  for  the  gradual  abolition  of  slavery. 

Methodist  preachers,  being  often  called  upon  to  officiate  at 
marriages,  naturally  received  fees  or  complimentary  presents 
for  their  services.  The  rule  in  the  Discipline  respecting  "money 
received  by  our  traveling  ministers  for  marriage  fees"  was  this: 
"In  all  circuits  where  the  preachers  do  not  receive  their  full 
quarterage,  let  all  such  money  be  given  into  the  hands  of  the 
stewards,  to  be  equally  divided  between  the  traveling  preachers 
of  the  circuit.  In  all  other  cases  the  money  shall  be  disposed 
of  at  the  discretion  of  the  district  conference.7' 

This  rule  was  continued,  and  placed  in  the  section  "Of 
raising  Annual  Supplies  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and 
for  making  up  the  Preachers5  Allowance,  and  to  assist  in  the 
Support  of  the  Widows  and  Orphans  of  Preachers." 

It  was  moved  to  establish  the  relation  of  baptized  children 
to  the  Church,  by  admitting  them  to  all  the  privileges  of  the 
same,  except  the  Lord's  Supper,  until  their  conduct  was  such 
as  to  be  sufficient  to  exclude  them  from  the  society  according  to 
the  rules.    The  motion  was  voted  down;  but  it  shows  that  the 


1800.] 


The  General  Conference. 


63 


religious  welfare  of  children  has  ever  been  a  subject  of  con- 
sideration among  Methodists. 

The  method  of  appointing  presiding  elders  was  brought  up 
and  discussed.  A  motion  was  made  that  they  be  elected  by 
the  several  annual  conferences  as  the  bishops  were  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  this  mode  of  constituting  them  has  always 
been  a  moot  question;  but  the  motion  was  negatived.  The 
majority  of  the  earlier  preachers  thought  it  wise  to  leave  the 
appointment  in  the  hands  of  the  bishops.  Though  in  nearly 
every  General  Conference  since,  the  election  of  presiding  elders 
by  the  conferences  has  been  proposed,  it  has  never  been  made 
a  rule  of  our  ecclesiastical  economy. 

The  annual  allowance  for  the  support  of  the  children  of 
preachers  was  fixed  at  sixteen  dollars  while  under  the  age  of. 
seven  years,  and  at  twenty-four  dollars  between  seven  and  four- 
teen— provided  that  this  rule  should  not  apply  to  those  preach- 
ers whose  families  were  cared  for  by  other  means  in  their  re- 
spective circuits. 

The  preachers  were  directed,  by  a  vote  of  the  Conference, 
to  advise  the  brethren  of  each  circuit  to  purchase  ground  and 
erect  thereon  a  parsonage,  furnish  it,  at  least  with  heavy  furni- 
ture, and  entrust  the  same  to  trustees  to  be  appointed  by  the 
official  members  of  the  quarterly  meeting  conference,  according 
to  the  deed  of  settlement  as  printed  in  the  Discipline.  If  not 
able  to  build,  it  was  recommended  that  they  at  least  rent  a 
house  for  the  accommodation  of  the  married  preacher  and  his 
family. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Coke,  it  was  ordered  that  the  same  salary 
that  is  paid  to  the  effective  traveling  preachers  be  paid  to  the 
superannuated,  worn-out,  and  supernumerary  preachers,  and 
to  their  wives;  and  that  the  widows  of  those  who  have  died  in 
the  work  be  allowed  the  same  amount. 

"When  a  member  is  tried  for  any  crime  or  misdemeanor 
before  the  society  to  which  he  belongs,  if  the  preacher  or  min- 
ister differ  in  judgment  from  those  who  try  him,  he  shall  refer 
the  case  to  the  next  quarterly  meeting  conference  for  final 
determination. 

The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  fixed  at  seven.  A 


64 


The  General  Conference, 


[1800. 


plan  was  agreed  upon  for  the  raising  of  supplies  for  the  propa- 
gation of  the  gospel,  for  the  making  up  of  the  preachers' 
allowances,  and  to  assist  in  the  support  of  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  preachers.  The  rules  for  the  government  of  our 
seminaries  of  learning  were  ordered  to  be  omitted  from  the  Dis- 
cipline. Cokesbury  College  had  now  ceased  to  exist,  and  there 
were  no  other  schools  under  the  control  or  patronage  of  the 
Conference. 

On  motion  of  Bishop  Asbury,  the  annual  conferences  were 
directed  to  keep  a  record  of  their  proceedings,  and  send  a  copy 
of  the  same  to  the  General  Conference.  This  order  is  still  in 
force. 

It  was  Toted  that  the  next  session  of  the  General  Conference 
be  held  in  Baltimore,  beginning  May  6,  1804. 

It  was  provided  that  whenever  any  of  our  traveling  preach- 
ers became  owners  of  a  slave  or  slaves,  by  any  means,  they 
should  forfeit  their  ministerial  standing  in  the  Church,  unless 
they  executed,  if  practicable,  a  legal  emancipation  of  such  slave 
or  slaves,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  they  lived. 

Ezekiel  Cooper  was  elected  superintendent  of  the  book 
business,  and  definite  regulations  were  enacted  concerning  the 
publication  of  books,  and  other  matters  connected  with  the 
enterprise,  and  also  as  to  the  duties  of  the  preachers  relative 
thereto.  The  Philadelphia  Conference  was  directed  to  appoint 
a  Book  Committee,  who  were  to  have  general  oversight  of  the 
publishing  interests. 

The  Discipline  underwent  a  thorough  revision,  and  many 
verbal  changes  were  made.  The  Xotes  of  Bishops  Coke  and 
Asbury,  printed  in  the  Discipline  of  1797,  were  ordered  to  be 
omitted,  and  published  in  a  separate  form.  This,  however, 
was  not  done.  The  Notes  were  not  thought  to  be  valuable,  and 
had  little  interest  for  either  the  preachers  or  the  people. 

The  Conference  adjourned  on  the  20th  of  May. 


1804. 


r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  of  1804  met  in  Baltimore,  May 
7th.  There  were  seven  annual  conferences  represented, 
and  one  hundred  and  seven  preachers  present  entitled  to  sit 
as  members.  J ohn  Wilson  was  elected  secretary.  Bishops  Coke, 
Asbury,  and  Whatcoat  were  the  presiding  officers,  each  taking 
part  in  the  proceedings,  offering  resolutions,  and  making 
speeches  as  members.  The  three  conferences  in  the  extremities 
of  the  work  had  only  twelve  representatives,  while  Baltimore 
and  Philadelphia  conferences  furnished  sixty-seven.  The 
propriety  and,  indeed,  necessity  of  making  some  change  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Conference,  so  as  to  secure  a  more  general 
and  equitable  representation,  was  evident;  but  no  alteration 
was  made  in  the  composition  of  this  body.  All  preachers jwho 
had  traveled_four_  years  in  the  ministry  from  the  time  they 
were  received^  _pn_  trial  in  an  annual  conference  were  entitled 
to  seats.  Those  who  were  near  could  easily  attend;  the  more 
distant  could  come  only  with  difficulty,  and  the  time  consumed 
in  traveling  to  and  from  the  session,  together  with  that  spent 
in  the  session,  left  portions  of  the  work  unprovided  for  during 
many  days. 

The  business  of  the  session  was  transacted  mostly  in  open 
conference,  very  little  of  it  being  referred  to  committees.  Dr. 
Coke,  after  the  reading  of  fraternal  letters  from  England  and 
Ireland,  was  granted  leave  to  return  to  Europe,  agreeably  to 
the  request  of  the  British  Conference,  provided  that  he  should 
hold  himself  subject  to  the  call  of  three  of  the  annual  con- 
ferences, to  return  to  America,  when  requested  by  them,  and 
at  farthest,  if  Providence  should  allow,  to  the  next  General 
Conference. 

Several  new  regulations  were  made,  among  them  one  which 
required  the  bishops  to  allow  each  annual  conference  to  re- 
main in  session  a  week  at  least.  Prior  to  this  rule,  the  bishops 
could  adjourn  a  conference  at  any  time.  It  was  also  deter- 
mined that  the  bishops  should  not  allow  any  preacher  to  re- 
5  65 


66 


The  General  Conference. 


[1804. 


main  in  the  same  circuit  or  station  longer  than  two  years, 
successively. 

The  following  rule  was  enacted  respecting  the  president 
of  an  annual  conference  in  the  absence  of  a  bishop:  "In  case 
there  are  two  or  more  presiding  elders  belonging  to  one  con- 
ference, the  bishop  or  bishops  may,  by  letter  or  otherwise, 
appoint  the  president;  but  if  no  appointment  be  made,  the 
conference  shall  elect  the  president  from  among  the  presid- ' 
ing  elders,  by  ballot,  without  debate." 

It  was  ordered  that  the  board  of  official  members  at  quar- 
terly meetings  should  be  called  "the  quarterly  meeting  con- 
ference." The  rule  governing  such  bodies  reads  thus:  "The 
quarterly  meeting  conference  shall  appoint  a  secretary  to  take 
down  the  proceedings  of  the  quarterly  meeting  conference  in 
a  book  kept  by  one  of  the  stewards  of  the  circuit  for  that  pur- 
pose."   This  rule  is  still  in  force. 

It  was  ordered  that  the  Book  Concern  be  removed  from 
Philadelphia  to  New  York;  and  Ezekiel  Cooper  and  John 
Wilson  were  elected  general  book-stewards,  or  agents. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Coke,  it  was  ordered  that  the  Discipline 
be  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first  to  contain  all  that  relates 
to  the  spiritual  and  religious  concerns  of  the  Church,  the  other 
to  its  temporal  interests. 

The  constitution  and  course  of  nature  can  not  be  regu- 
lated by  statute,  especially  in  matters  of  love  and  marriage, 
and  the  Conference  saw  fit  to  modify  the  rule  respecting  the 
marriage  of  Church  members  with  persons  who  were  not 
awakened,  or  were  not  connected  with  some  branch  of  the 
evangelical  Church,  especially  the  Methodist.  When  a  member 
intermarried  with  an  "unbeliever,"  he  was  formerly  expelled 
from  the  society,  but  now  he  was  simply  to  be  put  back  on 
probation,  and  a  suitable  exhortation  was  to  bo  subjoined. 
Nothing  was  said  as  to  what  further  penalty  was  to  be  ex- 
pected at  the  end  of  the  six  months'  probation,  if  the  un- 
believer still  remained  out  of  the  Church.  The  Conference 
probably  thought  that  an  unbelieving  consort  would  by  that 
time  be  sanctified  by  the  believing  (1  Cor.  vii,  14);  but  the 
following  note  was  added:  "We  do  not  prohibit  our  people 
from  marrying  persons  who  are  not  of  our  society,  provided 


1804.]  The  General  Conference.  67 

such  persons  have  the  form  and  are  seeking  the  power  of  god- 
liness; but  we  are  determined  to  discourage  their  marrying 
persons  who  do  not  come  up  to  this  description;  and  even  in 
a  doubtful  case  the  person  shall  be  put  back  on  trial."  While 
the  rule  discouraging  such  marriages  is  still  retained  in  the 
Discipline,  it  is  practically  a  dead  letter;  for  the  matter  is 
left  to  the  conscience  and  judgment  of  the  parties  themselves, 
without  ecclesiastical  interference. 

On  motion  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  it  was  determined  that  a 
book-steward  should  not  be  appointed  for  a  longer  period 
than  eight  years.  A  number  of  verbal  changes  were  made  in 
the  Discipline,  which  was  read  in  open  Conference,  and  re- 
vised section  by  section.  In  the  twenty-third  Article  of  Ee- 
ligion  the  words  "Constitution  of  the  United  States"  were 
substituted  for  "General  Act  of  Confederation,"  and  the 
phrase,  "are  a  sovereign  and  independent  nation,  and,"  was 
inserted  after  the  word  "states." 

The  Church  was  always  opposed  to  slavery  in  the  abstract, 
and  that  domestic  institution  was,  early  in  its  history,  the 
cause  and  occasion  of  much  debate.  Slavery  was  aggressive 
because  it  was  profitable.  Though  it  existed  in  some  of  the 
Northern  states,  it  was  strongest  in  the  South.  It  was  more 
entrenched  in  the  social  order  and  customs  of  the  people 
in  that  section  of  the  country,  and  was  everywhere  a  difficult 
thing  to  cope  with.  The  Church  temporized,  making  only  a 
feeble  protest.  At  this  time  its  utterances  on  the  evil  were 
measured.  The  Conference,  on  the  motion  of  Freeborn  Gar- 
rettson,  resolved  that  the  subject  be  left  to  the  three  bishops, 
to  frame  a  section  to  suit  the  Southern  and  Northern  states, 
as  they  in  their  wisdom  might  deem  best,  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Conference  for  final  action.  But  Bishop  Asbury  re- 
fused to  act  under  this  resolution,  and  Bishop  Coke  was  not 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  so  the  question  was  left  open. 
Finally,  after  a  great  variety  of  motions,  Ezekiel  Cooper 
moved  that  a  committee  of  one  member  from  each  conference 
be  appointed,  to  consider  the  different  motions,  and  report 
on  the  subject.  The  motion  prevailed,  and  George  Dougherty, 
Philip  Bruce,  William  Burke,  Henry  Willis,  Ezekiel  Cooper, 
Freeborn  Garrettson,  and  Thomas  Lyell  were  appointed.  The 


68 


TJte  General  Conference. 


[1804. 


report  of  the  committee,  with  a  few  amendments,  was  adopted, 
and  was  incorporated  in  the  Discipline,  forming  section  nine 
in  the  edition  for  that  year,  "Of  Slavery."  While  emancipation 
was  still  recommended  to  the  owners  of  slaves,  a  failure  to 
emancipate  did  not  work  forfeiture  of  membership  in  the 
Church;  and  the  members  of  our  societies  in  Xorth  Carolina, 
South  Carolina,  and  Georgia  were  to  be  exempted  from  the 
rules  laid  down  in  the  section. 

In  accordance  with  the  motion  of  Dr.  Coke,  which  was 
passed  by  the- Conference,  George  Roberts,  George  Dougherty, 
and  Daniel  Hitt  were  appointed  a  committee  to  determine 
what  sections  of  the  Discipline  shall  belong  to  the  temporal 
portion.  According  to  their  arrangement,  this  part  was  to 
contain  the  sections  defining  the  boundaries  of  the  confer- 
ences, the  building  of  churches,  and  the  qualifications  and  du- 
ties of  stewards,  together  with  the  sections  concerning  the 
salaries  to  be  allowed  to  the  preachers,  the  Chartered  Fund, 
the  printing  and  circulation  of  books,  and  slavery.  It  was 
ordered  that  the  first  or  spiritual  part  of  the  Discipline  be 
printed  as  a  separate  tract,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christian 
slaves  belonging  to  our  Society  in  the  South,  though,  as  a 
general  rule,  the  slaves  were  unable  to  read,  and  were  not 
allowed  to  be  taught. 

Ezekiel  Cooper,  Alexander  McCaine,  and  Thomas  Lyell 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  draft  a  letter  to  the  English 
and  Irish  Conferences,  in  answer  to  theirs  to  this  General 
Conference. 

On  the  recommendation  of  the  committee  appointed  on 
the  Book  Concern,  the  Conference  ordered  the  publication  of 
a  number  of  books,  among  which  were  Fletcher's  Portrait  of 
St.  Paul;  Memoirs  of  Piev.  Peard  Dickinson;  "Wesley's  Ser- 
mons not  heretofore  printed  in  this  country;  Wesley's  Xotes; 
Benson's  Life  of  Fletcher;  Wesley's  Journal,  Vol.  EL  A 
"Methodist  Piepository"  was  also  ordered  to  be  published,  and 
Dr.  Coke  was  requested  to  prepare  one  volume — provided  that 
the  general  book-steward  and  the  New  York  Book  Committee 
shall  have  liberty  to  leave  out  such  pieces  as  they  see  neces- 
sary, to  insert  a  few  chapters  of  American  biography,  expe- 
rience, and  revivals  of  religion.    Dr.  Coke  was  also  requested 


1804.] 


The  General  Conference. 


69 


to  prepare  the  Ecclesiastical  History  (by  Mr.  Wesley,  perhaps) 
for  the  committee,  and  to  adapt  Mr.  Wesley's  Appeal  to  the 
Methodists  to  the  circumstances  and  situation  of  the  United 
States.  Dr.  Coke  was  too  busy  to  prepare  any  of  these  vol- 
umes, and  none  of  them  were  printed.  The  "Repository" 
was  intended,  probably,  to  be  a  library  series,  like  that  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  "Christian  Library,"  which  was  printed  in  fifty 
volumes,  16mo,  each  containing  about  320  pages. 

The  general  book-steward  and  his  assistant  were  author- 
ized to  preserve,  alter,  or  change  the  phraseology  and  measure 
of  our  pocket  hymn-book  as  they  in  their  wisdom  might  judge 
best;  and  Dr.  Coke  was  requested  to  examine  the  present 
hymn-book,  and  to  give  his  thoughts  concerning  it.  The 
principal  work  on  the  hymn-book,  selecting  and  revising,  was 
done,  however,  by  Bishop  Asbury. 

Baltimore  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
General  Conference,  and  on  the  23d  day  of  the  month  the 
Conference  adjourned  to  meet  May  1,  1808. 


1808. 


r  1 1  HE  General  Conference  of  1808  met  in  Baltimore,  May 
6th.  The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  seven,  and 
one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  preachers  were  present.  Of 
these  the  Baltimore,  Xew  York,  and  Philadelphia  conferences 
had  eighty-two.  William  Penn  Chandler  was  elected  secretary, 
and  Francis  Ward  assistant  secretary.  Bishop  Whatcoat  was 
dead,  and  Dr.  Coke  was  absent,  so  that  Bishop  Asbury  was 
alone  left  to  preside. 

A  Committee  of  Correspondence,  consisting  of  Ezekiel 
Cooper,  Joshua  Wells,  and  Daniel  Hitt,  was  appointed  (John 
Pitts  subsequently  taking  the  place  of  Joshua  Wells),  and  a 
Committee  of  Eeview  and  Inspection  was  also  formed,  consist- 
ing of  one  member  from  each  annual  conference,  to  wit: 
Samuel  Coate,  of  Xew  York;  Martin  Ruter,  of  New  England; 
William  McKendree,  of  Western;  James  H.  Millard,  of  South 
Carolina;  Jesse  Lee,  of  Virginia;  Nelson  Eeed,  of  Baltimore, 
and  Thomas  Ware,  of  Philadelphia. 

Ezekiel  Cooper  presented  to  the  Conference  certain  letters 
received  from  England,  being  the  printed  address  of  the  Brit- 
ish Conference,  two  letters  from  Dr.  Coke  to  the  General 
Conference,  and  one  from  him  to  Bishop  Asbury.  During  the 
reading  of  these  letters,  Bishop  Asbury  withdrew  from  the 
Conference  from  motives  of  delicacy,  as  there  were  some  en- 
comiums bestowed  upon  him  in  the  British  address.  In  the 
mean  time,  Freeborn  Garrettson  occupied  the  chair.  The  ad- 
dress from  the  Wesleyan  Conference  and  the  letters  from  Dr. 
Coke  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Correspondence;  and 
the  case  of  Dr.  Coke  was  referred  to  a  special  committee  of 
three,  to  report  thereon.  This  committee  made  its  report 
the  next  day— May  7th — and,  with  amendments,  it  was 
adopted  as  follows: 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  the  General  Conference  do  agree  and  consent 
that  Dr.  Coke  may  continue  in  Europe  till  he  be  called  to  the  United 
States  by  the  General  Conference,  or  by  all  the  annual  conferences 
respectively. 

70 


1808.] 


The  General  Conference. 


71 


M  2.  Resolved,  That  we  retain  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  serv- 
ices and  labors  of  Dr.  Coke  among  us,  and  the  thanks  of  this  Confer* 
ence  are  hereby  acknowledged  to  him,  and  to  God,  for  all  his  labors 
of  love  toward  us,  from  the  time  he  first  left  his  native  country  to 
serve  us. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  Dr.  Coke's  name  shall  be  retained  on  our 
Minutes  after  the  name  of  the  bishops,  in  a  N.  B. — '  Dr.  Coke,  at  the 
request  of  the  British  Conference,  and  by  consent  of  our  General 
Conference,  resides  in  Europe;  he  is  not  to  exercise  the  office  of 
superintendent  or  bishop  among  us  in  the  United  States,  until  he  be 
recalled  by  the  General  Conference,  or  by  all  the  annual  conferences 
respectively.' 

"4.  Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  be,  and  are 
hereby,  directed  to  draft  two  letters,  one  to  the  British  Conference, 
the  other  to  Dr.  Coke,  in  answer  to  their  respective  letters  to  us,  and 
therein  communicating  to  them,  respectively,  the  contents  of  the 
above  resolutions." 

A  memorial  from  the  New  York  Conference,  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  making  the  General  Conference  a  delegated  body, 
was  read.  In  this  memorial  the  New  England,  the  Western, 
and  the  South  Carolina  Conferences  joined.  A  committee 
of  fourteen  members,  two  from  each  conference,  was  appointed, 
to  draw  up  such  regulations  as  they  might  think  best  for  the 
government  of  the  General  Conference  as  a  delegated  body, 
and  report  the  same  for  consideration  by  the  Conference.  The 
committee  was  selected  by  the  several  conferences  as  follows: 
Ezekiel  Cooper  and  John  Wilson,  New  York;  George  Picker- 
ing and  Joshua  Soule,  New  England;  William  McKendree 
and  William  Burke,  Western;  William  Phoebus  and  Josiah 
Randle,  South  Carolina;  Philip  Bruce  and  Jesse  Lee,  Vir- 
ginia; Stephen  G.  Roszel  and  Nelson  Reed,  Baltimore;  and 
John  McClaskey  and  Thomas  Ware,  Philadelphia. 

The  continued  absence  of  Dr.  Coke  in  England  and  the 
recent  death  of  Bishop  Whatcoat  (he  died  July  5,  1806)  made 
it  necessary  to  strengthen  the  episcopacy;  and  it  was  variously 
proposed  to  elect  one,  or  seven,  or  two  additional  bishops^  but 
the  Conference  thought  it  besj^ta_elex±JbLut  one.  The  election 
took  place  on  May  12th,  and  the  votes  given  were  as  follows: 
For  William  McKendree,  95;  Ezekiel  Cooper,  24;  Jesse  Lee, 
4;  Thomas  Ware,  3,  and  Daniel  Hitt,  2;  total,  128.  The  or- 
dination of  the  bishop-elect  took  place  on  Wednesday,  May 


72 


The  General  Conference. 


[1808. 


18th,  Elders  Garrettson,  Bruce,  Lee,  and  Ware  assisting  Bishop 
Asbury  in  the  services. 

The  Committee  on  Regulating  and  Perpetuating  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  met  and  appointed  three  of  their  number 
as  a  sub-committee,  to  formulate  a  plan.  This  sub-committee 
was  composed  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  Philip  Bruce,  and  Joshua 
Soule.  Each  member  agreed  to  prepare  a  jjlan,  but  only  Cooper 
and  Soule  put  anything  down  on  paper.  Both  of  these  agreed 
that  the  General  Conference  should  not  do  away  with  epis- 
copacy; but  Soule  and  Bruce  insisted  that  it  should  be  a 
general  itinerant  superintendency,  and  not  one  of  a  limited 
or  diocesan  character.  And  so  the  entire  plan,  as  prepared 
by  Soule,  was  submitted  to  the  committee  of  fourteen,  adopted 
by  them,  and  reported  to  the  Conference. 

Cooper,  who  favored  the  election  of  seven  bishops — one  for 
each  conference — was  also  in  favor  of  electing  the  presiding 
elders.  When  the  report  of  the  committee  of  fourteen  was 
brought  into  the  Conference,  the  consideration  of  the  plan  sub- 
mitted by  them  was  postponed,  to  take  up  a  resolution  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Cooper,  to  the  effect  that  each  annual  conference 
should,  without  debate,  annually  choose,  by  ballot,  its  own  pre- 
siding elders.  This  resolution  was  debated  for  two  or  three 
days;  but  upon  putting  it  to  vote  it  was  lost,  only  fifty-two 
voting  for  it  and  seventy-three  against  it.  The  report  of  the 
committee  of  fourteen,  providing  for  a  delegated  General  Con- 
ference, was  then  voted  on  (May  18th)  and  lost,  fifty-seven  vot- 
ing for  and  sixty-four  against. 

The  preachers  from  the  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  Con- 
ferences generally  voted  in  the  negative,  and  much  feeling 
was  excited  among  the  members  from  the  more  distant  con- 
ferences. Those  from  Xew  England  asked  leave  to  withdraw, 
stating  that  they  did  not  desire  to  create  any  disturbance;  but 
their  presence  any  longer  was  needless,  as  they  constituted  only 
a  small  minority.  The  Western  members  also  felt  outraged. 
"Burke's  brow/'  says  Henry  Smith,  in  his  Recollections,  "gath- 
ered a  solemn  frown;  Sale  and  others  looked  sad;  and  as  for 
poor  Lakin,  he  wept  like  a  child."  But  on  May  23d  the  sub- 
ject of  a  delegated  General  Conference  was  again  considered; 
and,  on  motion  of  Enoch  George,  it  was  voted  by  a  very  large 


1808.] 


The  General  Conference. 


78 


majority  that  "The  General  Conference  shall  be  composed  of 
one  member  for  every  five  members  of  each  annual  conference." 
Thus  was  established  the  principle  of  a  delegated  General  Con- 
ference, conceding  to  the  conferences  at  a  distance  from  the 
center  all  that  they  asked  for  in  the  way  of  an  equitable  rep- 
resentation. This  representation  was  made  as  large  as  possible. 
This  was  the  first  item  in  the  plan  which  had  been  proposed 
by  the  committee.  The  other  items  were  taken  up  separately, 
and,  with  a  few  verbal  amendments  and  differences,  were 
adopted  by  the  Conference,  and  together  they  form  what  has 
been  known  ever  since  as  "the  Constitution."  The  Journal 
of  the  General  Conference  does  not  contain  it  as  finally  passed, 
except  piece-meal,  as  the  secretary  at  the  moment  reduced  it 
to  writing.  It  appears  in  complete  and  corrected  form  in  the 
Discipline  for  1808,  evidently  edited  from  the  original  manu- 
script report,  perhaps  by  Bishop  Asbury  and  John  Wilson, 
the  book  agent.  It  has  been  republished  with  but  little  change 
in  every  edition  of  the  Discipline  since. 

The  annual  conferences  were  allowed  to  choose  their  own 
plans  for  the  raising  of  supplies  for  the  preachers.  It  was 
provided  that  if  the  amounts  allowed  the  preachers  should 
not  be  raised,  the  society  should  not  be  accountable  for  the 
deficiency,  as  in  the  case  of  ordinary  debts. 

The  Committee  of  Review  reported  on  several  matters  re- 
ferred to  them:  1.  That  the  manuscript  hymn-book  compiled 
by  Daniel  Hitt  is,  upon  the  whole,  a  good  one,  and  that  it  would 
be  of  considerable  advantage  to  our  people  if  published  in  a 
separate  volume,  so  that  those  who  have  the  present  hymn- 
book  might  be  supplied  with  this,  and  that  in  future  both 
should  be  combined  into  one  volume.  2.  It  would  be  better 
to  publish  selections  from  the  book  of  letters  giving  accounts 
of  the  progress  of  the  Church  and  revivals  rather  than  the  en- 
tire book.  This  was  intended,  perhaps,  to  constitute  one  of 
the  volumes  of  the  proposed  Methodist  Repository.  3.  It 
would  not  be  advisable  to  adopt  the  music  book  proposed  by 
Brother  James  Evans,  of  New  York;  but  should  he  think 
proper  to  publish  it  on  his  own  account,  the  preachers  would 
recommend  it  in  their  various  societies  as  a  work  of  merit. 
4.  The  committee  has  taken  a  cursory  view  of  a  manuscript 


74 


The  General  Conference. 


[1808. 


"History  of  the  Methodists  in  the  United  States  of  America" 
(probably  the  one  written  by  Jesse  Lee);  but  they  deem  it 
rather  a  simple  and  crude  narrative  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
Methodists  than  a  history,  and  think  it  would  be  improper  to 
publish  it.  (If  this  was  Mr.  Lee's  History,  the  author  printed 
it  at  his  own  risk,  having  first  secured  several  hundred  sub- 
scribers in  various  states  for  it.  The  work  is  now  valuable  and 
interesting.)  o.  Our  traveling  preachers  are  enjoined  from 
publishing  any  pamphlet,  hymn,  or  spiritual  songs,  either  of 
their  own  or  others'  composing,  in  their  individual  or  joint 
capacity;  but  all  our  publications  should  come  through  the 
channel  of  our  general  Book  Concern. 

On  putting  the  report  to  vote  on  May  25th,  it  was  all 
adopted,  except  the  fifth  item,  which  was  amended  so  as  to 
read:  "So  traveling  preacher  shall  be  permitted  to  publish  any 
book  or  pamphlet  without  the  approbation  of  the  annual  con- 
ference to  which  he  belongs,  or  of  a  committee  chosen  by 
them." 

Letters  drafted  to  Dr.  Coke  and  the  British  Conference  were 
read  and  approved,  and  the  secretary  of  the  Conference  was 
directed  to  sign  them,  and  the  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Correspondence  to  countersign  them  on  behalf  of  the  General 
Conference. 

It  was  ordered  that  "Fletcher's  Checks"  be  reprinted  im- 
mediately, commencing  with  the  first  volume.  (These  Checks 
had  been  issued  in  America  in  six  volumes,  16mo  in  size,  the 
first  volume  of  which  had  been  printed  for  John  Dickins,  book 
steward,  in  1791,  the  other  volumes  following  soon  afterward. 
Four  volumes  were  finished  by  1793.  These  six  volumes  were, 
according  to  this  order,  reprinted,  all  at  once.) 

After  making  a  few  minor  alterations  in  the  Discipline, 
and  providing  for  a  special  edition  of  the  same  for  South  Caro- 
lina, by  leaving  out  the  section  and  the  general  rule  on  slavery, 
the  General  Conference  adjourned  on  Thursday  afternoon, 
May  26th.  Thus  early  did  the  General  Conference  begin  its 
compromises  on  the  subject  of  slavery.  Whether  the  special 
edition  of  the  Discipline  for  South  Carolina  was  ever  printed 
is  doubtful.  No  copies  of  it,  if  printed,  are  known  to  be  in 
existence. 


1812. 


T I  THE  first  delegated  General  Conference  met  this  year  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  May  1st.  Eight  conferences  were 
represented,  and  the  whole  number  of  delegates  was  ninety. 
The  session  was  opened  with  religious  exercises  conducted  by 
Bishop  Asbury.  William  M.  Kennedy,  of  the  South  Carolina 
Conference,  was  elected  secretary  pro  tempore.  The  question 
of  admitting  reserve  delegates  in  place  of  their  principals,  who 
might  be  absent,  was  settled  by  allowing  Joel  Winch  and  Daniel 
Webb  to  occupy  the  seats  of  John  Brodhead  and  Elijah  E. 
Sabin,  who  could  not  attend.  The  precedent  thus  established 
has  been  followed  ever  since.  When  the  roll  of  the  Conference 
was  made  up,  it  was  resolved  that  a  secretary  be  appointed 
who  was  not  a  member  of  the  Conference,  and  accordingly 
Daniel  Hitt  was  elected. 

A  letter  from  Dr.  Coke  was  read  by  Bishop  Asbury.  Rules 
of  Order  for  the  government  of  the  Conference  were  reported 
by  a  committee  that  had  been  appointed  for  this  purpose,  and 
adopted.  It  appears  from  the  records  that  heretofore  none  but 
members  and  officers  of  the  Conference  were  allowed  to  be 
present  at  its  sessions  and  to  witness  its  proceedings.  On  mo- 
tion, preachers  in  full  connection  were  now  allowed  to  sit  in 
the  church  where  the  Conference  met,  as  spectators;  but  they 
must  occupy  seats  in  the  gallery.  In  order  to  repress  frequent 
addresses  before  the  Conference  by  the  same  member,  a  person 
was  appointed  to  keep  tally  of  those  that  spoke,  and  mark  the 
time  which  they  consumed.  Whether  this  plan  served  as  an 
efficacious  check  is  not  stated. 

A  written  address  to  the  Conference  by  Bishop  McKendree 
was  read;  and  the  separate  matters  treated  of  were  referred 
to  appropriate  committees,  to  consider  and  report  on.  As  this 
written  address  was  a  novel  thing  in  Methodism,  Bishop  As- 
bury .rose  to  his  feet  as  soon  as  it  was  read,  and,  addressing 
McKendree,  said,  "I  have  something  to  say  to  you  before  the 
Conference."  McKendree  arose,  and  the  two  bishops  stood 
face  to  face.    Asbury  went  on  to  say:  "This  is  a  new  thing. 

75 


70 


The  General  Conference. 


[1812. 


I  never  did  business  in  this  way;  and  why  is  this  new  thing 
introduced?"  Bishop  McKendree  replied:  "You  are  our  fa- 
ther; we  are  your  sons.  You  never  had  need  of  it.  I  am  only 
a  brother,  and  have  need  of  it."  Asbury  said  no  more,  but 
addressed  the  Conference,  giving  a  brief  historical  account  of 
the  work  in  past  years,  its  present  state,  and  what  may  prob- 
ably be  expected  in  the  future  upon  this  continent. 

Early  in  the  session,  James  Axley,  of  Tennessee,  intro- 
duced a  resolution,  "That  no  stationed  or  local  preacher  shall 
retail  spirituous  or  malt  liquors  without  forfeiting  his  minis- 
terial character  among  us."  It  seems  strange  that  there  was 
any  occasion  for  such  a  resolution.  The  Church  had  always 
retained  among  its  General  Eules  the  substance,  if  not  the 
words,  of  Mr.  Wesley's  original  admonition  concerning  the 
things  to  be  avoided:  "Drunkenness;  buying  or  selling  spirit- 
uous liquors,  or  drinking  them,  unless  in  cases  of  extreme  ne- 
cessity," But  for  some  reason  the  second  clause  had  dropped 
out.  It  now  became  common  for  members  of  the  Church  to 
buy  and  sell,  if  they  did  not  drink,  intoxicating  liquors.  There 
were  also  distillers  among  them.  This  laxity  of  discipline,  or 
rather  of  morals,  had  invaded  the  ranks  of  the  ministry.  It 
is  sad  to  record  that  this  motion,  after  being  postponed  for 
action  several  times,  was  finally  lost.  The  Conference  had  had 
ample  time  to  deliberate  upon  it;  the  members  well  under- 
stood its  nature  and  import;  they  were  all  total  abstainers,  so 
far  as  the  use  of  strong  drink  as  a  beverage  is  concerned;  and 
yet  they  temporized.  But  Mr.  Axley  was  not  discouraged  by 
his  defeat,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

Jesse  Lee  moved  that  the  members  of  the  next  General 
Conference  be  appointed  by  the  annual  conferences  according 
to  their  seniority,  and  that  there  shall  be  one  delegate  for 
every  six  members  thereof.  This  motion,  after  being  post- 
poned several  times,  was  finally  lost. 

A  communication  was  read  from  Benjamin  Tanner,  of 
Philadelphia,  asking  the  concurrence  and  influence  of  the  Con- 
ference in  a  request  that  Bishop  Asbury  should  sit  for  his  like- 
ness, to  have  a  portrait  engraving  made  from  it.  It  was  there- 
upon resolved  by  the  Conference,  "That  Bishop  Asbury  be, 
and  is  hereby,  requested  to  sit  to  a  good  painter,  employed  by 


1812.] 


The  General  Conference. 


77 


Benjamin  Tanner,  for  his  picture  to  be  taken,  for  the  purpose 
of  engraving  and  publishing  a  portrait."  The  Book  Agents 
were  authorized  to  negotiate  with  Mr.  Tanner  for  such  quan- 
tities of  the  portraits  as  might  be  expedient  to  supply  the 
Connexion. 

Committees  were  appointed  on  the  Book  Concern,  the  Epis- 
copacy, Division  of  the  Work  in  the  West,  Local  Preachers, 
Doctrine,  Discipline  and  Practice,  Eeview  and  Eevisal,  Unfin- 
ished Business  of  the  Last  General  Conference,  Genesee  Confer- 
ence (to  determine  the  eligibility  of  the  delegates  from  that 
conference),  and  on  Temporal  Affairs. 

The  work  in  the  West  was  divided  into  two  conferences, 
to  take  the  place  of  the  Western  Conference,  namely,  the  Ohio' 
and  the  Tennessee  conferences;  and  the  boundaries  of  each 
were  established.  The  bishops  were  authorized  to  establish 
another  conference  down  the  Mississippi,  in  the  interval  of  the 
General  Conference,  if  they  deemed  it  necessary. 

The  ordination  of  local  deacons  to  the  office  of  elder  was 
authorized  by  a  vote  of  49  to  35,  under  certain  regulations 
and  restrictions. 

The  question  of  electing  presiding  elders  by  the  annual 
conferences  was  introduced,  and,  after  a  free  discussion,  was 
lost  by  a  vote  of  42  for  to  45  against  it. 

Bishop  Asbury,  in  his  address  to  the  Conference,  spoke  of 
his  desire  to  go  to  Europe  on  a  visit;  and  this  matter  was  re- 
ferred to  a  committee  of  three,  to  report  on.  They  reported 
that  it  was  their  sincere  request  and  desire  that  Bishop  As- 
bury would  relinquish  his  thoughts  of  visiting  Europe,  and 
confine  his  labors  to  the  American  Connexion. 

The  secretary  was  directed  to  procure  a  convenient  trunk 
in  which  to  deposit  the  Journal  and  other  papers  belonging  to 
the  General  Conference,  and  the  Book  Agents  were  ordered 
to  take  charge  of  the  same.  This  action  was  probably  taken 
because  at  the  opening  of  the  session  the  Journal  of  1808 
could  not  be  found  until  a  thorough  search  for  it  was  finally 
made  among  the  papers  of  the  late  John  Wilson,  Book  Agent. 
It  was  found  laid  away  with  some  old  books. 

The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  made  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  publishing  interests  of  the  Church,  and  rec- 


78 


The  General  Conference. 


[1812. 


ommended  that  the  Methodist  Magazine,  two  volumes  of  which 
had  been  heretofore  published,  be  revived,  and  that  the  third 
volume  be  commenced,  at  furthest,  by  the  next  January.  They 
also  advised  as  to  the  discount  to  be  allowed  to  the  preachers 
on  the  sale  of  books,  and  that  two  book  agents  be  elected,  the 
first  to  be  editor  and  general  book-steward  and  the  other  assist- 
ant book-steward. 

Daniel  Hitt  was  elected  editor  and  book-steward,  and 
Thomas  "Ware,  assistant.  Ezekiel  Cooper,  Xathan  Bangs,  and 
Laban  Clark  were  appointed  a  committee  to  attend,  with  the 
book  agents,  in  selecting  those  parts  of  the  Journal  which 
needed  to  be  incorporated  in  the  Discipline;  and  they  were 
granted  the  authority  to  modify  the  language  and  correct  the 
grammatical  construction  of  the  next  edition  of  the  Discipline, 
but  in  no  case  to  alter  the  sense  therein  contained. 

A  motion  offered  by  John  Sale,  to  prevent  preachers  and 
private  members  from  buying  lottery  tickets,  or  having  any- 
thing to  do  with  lotteries,  was  postponed  until  May  1,  1816. 

On  motion  of  Jesse  Lee,  the  Book  Agents  were  instructed 
to  leave  out  of  the  future  editions  of  the  Discipline  all  the 
Doctrinal  Tracts,  and  to  publish  them  in  a  separate  volume. 

Baltimore  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
General  Conference;  and  on  Friday,  May  22d,  the  Conference 
adjourned,  to  meet  May  1,  1816. 


1816. 


r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  of  1816  was  composed  of  one  hun- 
dred  and  seven  members,  representing  nine  annual  con- 
ferences. It  convened  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  Wednes- 
day, May  1st.  Bishop  McKendree  presided.  Lewis  K.  Fechtig 
was  elected  secretary. 

Since  the  last  session  of  the  General  Conference,  both  Dr. 
Coke  and  Bishop  Asbury  had  passed  away;  the  former  dying 
fat  sea  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  May  2,  1814,  and  the  latter  at  the 
home  of  George  Arnold,  near  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  March  31, 
1816,  only  a  month  before  the  General  Conference  met.  The 
Methodists  of  Baltimore  desired  to  have  his  remains  brought 
"to  that  city  and  interred  there;  and  the  Conference  passed  a 
resolution  directing  their  removal.  When  the  remains  of 
Bishop  Asbury,  were  received,  appropriate  services  were  held 
in  the  Light  Street  Church,  the  seat  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence; and  thence,  followed  by  the  members  of  the  Conference 
and  a  vast  concourse  of  citizens,  the  body  was  carried  to  the 
Eutaw  Street  Church  and  deposited  in  a  vault  under  the  re- 
cess of  the  pulpit. .  Bishop  McKendree  preached  the  funeral 
sermon. 

An  address'  to  the  Conference,  prepared  by  Bishop  Asbury, 
was  presented,  with  appropriate  remarks  by  Bishop  McKendree, 
and  read;  and  also  an  address  written  by  Bishop  McKendree 
was  read  by  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  of  Tennessee.  Both  addresses 
were  referred  to  a  committee,  in  order  to  report  to  the  Con- 
ference the  different  subjects  mentioned  in  them  appropriate 
to  be  committed  to  distinct  committees.  One  member  from 
each  annual  conference  was  selected,  as  follows:  Nathan  Bangs, 
George  Pickering,  William  Case,  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  Lewis 
Myers,  Philip  Bruce,  Nelson  Eeed,  and  Eobert  E.  Eoberts. 
Eules  of  Order  were  adopted,  and  a  sufficient  number  of 
copies  was  printed  to  furnish  each  member  with  one.  The 
Conference  was  too  economical  to  print  a  surplus  copy. 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  committee 
to  which  the  Bishops'  addresses  were  referred,  the  following 
standing  committees  were  appointed:  On  Episcopacy,  Book  Con- 

79 


80 


The  General  Conference. 


[1816. 


cern,  Ways  and  Means,  Safety  (to  inquire  whether  the  doctrines 
and  discipline  of  the  Church  had  been  maintained,  and  en- 
forced, and  the  circuits  and  stations  duly  attended  to),  and  on 
Temporal  Economy. 

The  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund  reported,  and  their 
report  was  referred  to  a  committee  of  three  for  examination. 
A  committee  of  nine  was  appointed  to  take  into  consideration 
that  part  of  the  Discipline  which  relates  to  local  preachers, 
and  any  other  subject  with  regard  to  them,  which  the  General 
Conference  may  refer  to  them. 

It  was  resolved  to  elect  and  ordain  two  additional  bishops; 
and  when  the  hallots  were  counted,  Enoch  George  and  Robert 
Eichford  Roberts  were  found  to  be  elected.  The  ordination 
took  place  on  Friday  morning,  May  17th. 

The  method  of  appointing  presiding  elders  was  discussed, 
and  it  was  the  sentiment  of  many  of  the  preachers  that  they 
should  be  appointed  only  after  nomination  by  the  bishop  and 
election  by  the  several  annual  conferences.  This  method  did 
not  meet  with  favor  on  the  part  of  the  majority,  and  the  pro- 
posed plan  was  laid  on  the  table.  A  similar  proposition  was 
lost  on  a  direct  vote. 

The  salary  of  the  preachers  was  fixed  at  $100  each;  if  mar- 
ried, $100  was  allowed  for  their  wives;  and,  in  addition,  the 
necessary  family  or  boarding  expenses,  to  be  estimated  by  the 
board  of  stewards  in  each  charge,  and  determined  by  the  quar- 
terly conference. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  always  favored  free  sit- 
tings in  its  houses  of  worship,  and  the  Conference  passed  a 
resolution  condemnatory  of  pews  to  be  sold  or  disposed  of  as 
private  property.^  The  rule  requiring  the  men  and  women  to 
sit  apart  in  all  our  churches  was  inconsistent  with  the  private 
ownership  of  pews,  which  would  be  making  a  class  distinction 
in  the  membership,  and  was  unnecessary  for  the  proper  support 
and  maintenance  of  the  gospel. 

Bishop  Roberts  assumed  the  chair  as  presiding  officer  on 
Mav  18th.  It  does  not  appear  from  the  Journal  that  Bishop 
George  presided  upon  any  occasion  during  this  session  of  the 
General  Conference.  It  may  have  been  according  to  his  own 
desire  to  be  relieved  of  this  duty.    However,  Bishop  Roberts 


1816.] 


The  General  Conference. 


81 


retired  from  his  place  as  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed 
on  the  situation  of  our  brethren  in  Montreal.  The  late  war 
with  England  had  disturbed  the  relation  of  the  Church  toward 
the  Canadian  work,  which  was  tftill  supplied  by  preachers  ap- 
pointed by  the  New  York  conference.  The  committee  to  con- 
fer with  delegates  from  the  British  Connexion  relative  to  the 
matter  consisted  of  Robert  E.  Roberts,  Samuel  Draper,  and 
George  Harmon.  John  Emory  was  appointed  to  take  the  place 
of  Bishop  Roberts  on  this  committee,  and  also  on  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means. 

A  report  on  the  support  of  the  ministry,  from  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,  was  presented,  and,  with  a  few 
amendments,  adopted.  The  substance  of  the  report  was  em- 
bodied in  the  Discipline  of  1816,  and  it  is  the  most  important 
and  precise  method  of  supporting  the  gospel  and  of  raising 
supplies  that  had  so  far  been  enacted. 

The  Committee  on  Canadian  Affairs  reported  that  it  was 
inconsistent  with  the  duties  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
to  give  up  any  part  of  our  work  to  the  superintendence  of  the 
British  Wesleyan  missionaries,  and  recommended  that  a  respect- 
ful letter  be  addressed  to  the  Missionary  Society  in  London, 
explaining  the  reasons  for  this  action.  Nathan  Bangs,  John 
Emory,  and  Thomas  L.  Douglass  were  appointed  a  .  committee 
to  prepare  and  forward  such  a  letter. 

The  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund  were  authorized  to  sell 
and  dispose  of  any  of  the  stocks  or  property  belonging  thereto, 
and  reinvest  the  proceeds  in  other  securities,  whenever  in  their 
judgment  the  capital  and  interest  of  the  fund  would  be  better 
secured  or  advanced. 

The  boundaries  of  the  conferences  were  defined,  and  eleven 
of  them  provided  for.  The  Committee  of  Safety  presented 
an  earnest  protest  against  the  preaching  of  any  other  doctrines 
than  those  taught  in  our  Church  standards,  excluding  all  specu- 
lative theology;  against  allowing  worldliness  and  fashion  to 
creep  into  our  societies;  against  laxity  in  discipline,  and  the 
tendency  to  confine  preaching  and  other  services  to  the  Sab- 
bath, by  reducing  the  size  of  the  circuits,  and  fostering  local 
interests  to  the  neglect  of  the  connectional. 

James  Axley  offered  in  substance  the  same  resolution  on 
6 


82 


The  General  Conference. 


[1816. 


the  subject  of  temperance  as  he  had  introduced  in  the  General 
Conference  of  1812,  to  wit:  "No  preacher  shall  distill  or  retail 
spirituous  liquors  without  forfeiting  his  license."  Lewis  Myers 
moved  to  amend  the  motion  thus:  "That  every  prudent  means 
be  used  by  our  annual  and  quarterly  meeting  conferences  to  dis- 
courage the  distilling  or  retailing  of  spirituous  liquors  among 
our  people,  and  especially  among  our  preachers;"  but  the  motion 
was  subsequently  withdrawn.  The  previous  question  was  then 
called  for,  "Shall  the  main  question  now  be  put?"  and  carried. 
Thomas  Burge  moved  that  the  resolution  be  divided,  so  as  to 
vote  on  the  distilling  and  the  retailing  of  liquors  separately. 
This  being  ordered,  the  vote  was  taken  on  the  first  member 
of  the  resolution,  and  carried.  The  vote  was  then  taken  on  the 
second  member  and  likewise  carried;  so  that  the  whole  reso- 
lution was  carried  as  offered.  This  victory  of  Mr.  Axley  was 
not  quite  as  sweeping  as  it  would  have  been  had  the  resolution 
offered  by  him  four  years  previously  been  adopted;  but  it 
showed  the  growing  sentiment  of  the  Church  on  the  subject  of 
dealing  in  intoxicating  liquors.  So  far  as  the  laity  were  con- 
cerned, it  did  not  affect  them,  and  this  action  was  not  em- 
bodied in  the  General  Eule  on  the  subject  of  temperance  until 
many  years  subsequently,  We  shall  trace  the  progress  of  the 
temperance  reformation  in  the  action  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence hereafter. 

Joshua  Soule  was  elected  editor  and  general  book  steward, 
and  Thomas  Mason  assistant.  The  expenses  of  the  delegates 
to  the  General  Conference  appearing  to  be  $1,419.75,  of  which 
only  $731.39  had  been  collected,  the  Conference  ordered  that 
a  draft  of  $638.36  be  made  on  the  Book  Concern  to  cover  the 
deficiency;  and  that  inasmuch  as  Bishops  George  and  Roberts 
had  made  no  claim,  $50  each  was  appropriated  for  their  ex- 
penses. 

On  the  subject  of  slavery,  the  committee  of  nine,  who  had 
been  specially  appointed  for  the  purpose  on  May  13th,  reported 
a  resolution  which  was  passed,  making  the  Chapter  on  Slavery 
in  the  Discipline  to  read:  "We  declare  that  we  are  as  much  as 
ever  convinced  of  the  great  evil  of  slavery;  therefore  no  slave- 
holder shall  be  eligible  to  any  official  station  in  our  Church 
hereafter,  where  the  laws  of  the  state  in  which  he  lives  will 


1816.] 


The  General  Conference. 


83 


admit  of  emancipation  and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy 
freedom." 

The  ratio  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference  was 
changed  from  five  to  seven.  The  bishops,  or  a  committee 
appointed  by  them  at  each  annual  conference,  were  instructed 
to  prescribe  a  course  of  study  and  of  reading  proper  to  be  pur- 
sued by  candidates  for  the  ministry;  and  it  was  ordered  that 
before  such  candidates  are  admitted  into  full  connection,  they 
shall  pass  satisfactory  examinations  upon  the  subjects  proposed. 

The  publishing  interests  of  the  Church  were  carefully  con- 
sidered. The  Book  Concern  in  New  York  was  directed  to  pub- 
lish a  monthly  Methodist  Magazine  of  forty  pages  octavo,  as  a 
continuation  of  the  former  Methodist  magazine,  only  two  vol- 
umes of  which  were  issued.  The  editing  of  the  magazine  was 
committed  to  the  Book  Steward  and  his  assistant.  It  was  ex- 
pected that  the  publication  would  commence  in  1817;  but  it 
was  not  until  January,  1818,  that  the  first  number  was  issued. 
The  order  of  the  General  Conference  of  1812  to  begin  a  third 
volume  of  the  Magazine  by  January,  1813,  was  found  to  be 
impracticable,  and  the  work  was  not  undertaken.  Thanks  were 
returned  by  the  Conference  to  Daniel  Hitt  and  Thomas  Ware, 
the  retiring  book  agents,  for  their  services  to  the  Church  in 
that  department. 

William  Phoebus,  Nathan  Bangs,  and  Daniel  Hitt  were 
appointed  a  committee,  with  the  book  agents,  to  revise  the 
Discipline  according  to  the  Journals  of  the  present  General 
Conference,  under  the  inspection  of  the  bishops.  In  this  re- 
vision the  editors  were  instructed  to  omit  the  word  "connexion/* 
and  substitute  the  words  "Church,"  "community,"  and  "itin- 
erancy" in  every  place,  as  the  grammatical  construction  may 
require. 

The  book  agents  were  directed  to  establish  a  depository  at 
Pittsburgh,  for  receiving  and  forwarding  to  the  preachers  in 
the  West  the  publications  of  the  Book  Concern.  They  were 
also  instructed  to  publish  more  small  books  and  fewer  large 
ones,  and  to  print  an  edition  of  Mr.  Wesley's  "Answer  to  Dr. 
Taylor  on  Original  Sin." 

Baltimore  was  chosen  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
General  Conference,  to  meet  May  1,  1820. 


1820. 


r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  of  this  year  met  in  the  Eutaw 
Street  Church,  Baltimore,  on  Monday,  May  1st.  After 
the  session  was  formally  opened  with  religious  exercises  by 
Bishop  McKendree,  he  informed  the  Conference  that  he  would 
be  unable  to  attend  regularly  io  the  duties  of  his  office,  on 
account  of  feeble  health,  but  would  render  all  the  service  he 
could  consistent  with  his  bodily  strength.  Bishop  George  took 
the  chair,  and  the  members  present  handed  in  their  certificates 
of  election.  There  were  ninety-three  delegates  in  attendance. 
Alexander  McCaine  was  elected  secretary,  but  not  being  present 
at  the  organization  Lewis  E.  Fechtig  was  appointed  secretary 
pro  tern. 

The  first  business  was  the  adoption  of  rules  of  order,  those 
of  1816  being,  with  a  few  amendments,  re-enacted.  These  rules, 
together  with  the  names  of  the  delegates,  their  places  of  abode, 
and  the  conferences  from  which  they  came,  were  ordered  to  be 
printed.  Arrangements  were  made  for  preaching  daily  in  one 
or  more  of  the  city  churches. 

A  written  address  from  Bishop  McKendree  was  presented 
by  Bishop  Roberts,  and  read,  and  the  matters  treated  on  by 
the  bishop  were  referred  to  appropriate  committees.  Bishops 
George  and  Roberts  made  verbal  addresses  concerning  the  va- 
rious departments  of  Church  work.  The  committees  were 
"elected  as  follows:  On  Episcopacy,  Local  Preachers,  Instruction 
of  Children,  Slavery,  Missions,  Temperance,  The  Condition  of 
the  Church  in  Canada,  Houses  of  Worship,  Conference  Bound- 
aries, Preparation  of  a  Life  of  Bishop  Asbury,  Book  Concern, 
American  Colonization  Society,  Candidates  for  Admission  into 
the  Traveling  Connection  and  Local  Ministry. 

A  resolution,  introduced  by  James  B.  Finley  and  John  Lane, 
instructing  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  to  consider 
the  propriety  of  establishing  a  branch  of  the  book  business  in 
the  West,  was  passed.  Various  memorials  and  petitions  were 
presented  and  referred.  The  secretary  was  authorized  to  pur- 
chase a  new  trunk  or  chest  for  the  preservation  of  the  Con- 


1820.] 


The  General  Conference. 


85 


ference  Journals,  documents,  etc.  The  trustees  of  the  Char- 
tered Fund  reported,  and  two  vacancies  in  the  Board  were  filled 
by  the  election  of  Alexander  Cook  and  James  Donley. 

The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  was  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  having  a  tune-book  compiled 
and  published  for  the  use  of  Methodist  choirs  and  congregations. 
The  committee  was  also  instructed  to  inquire  whether  there  are 
not  papers  to  be  collected,  the  works  of  Bishop  Whatcoat,  and 
that  they  take  these  papers  into  consideration  and  report  on 
the  same. 

A  committee  of  seven,  consisting  of  Nathan  Bangs,  Henry 
Stead,  Jonathan  Stamper,  Daniel  Fillmore,  Stephen  Martin- 
dale,  James  Bateman,  and  John  T.  Weaver,  was  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  digesting  and  outlining  a  plan 
for  the  institution  of  schools  or  seminaries  within  the  bounds 
and  under  the  direction  of  the  several  annual  conferences. 

A  Committee  on  Eights  and  Privileges,  composed  of  five 
members,  was  appointed;  and  to  it  was  referred  the  subject  of 
locating  ministers  by  an  annual  conference,  without  the  consent 
of  such  minister.  The  Committee  on  Eevisals  was  directed  to 
take  into  consideration  what  shall  be  done  with  those  preachers 
who  marry  women  that  have  not  the  form  and  are  not  seeking 
the  power  of  godliness. 

The  secretary  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  was  requested  to 
lay  before  the  Committee  on  the  Life  of  Bishop  Asbury  the 
proceedings  of  that  conference  relative  to  the  subject. 

The  appeals  of  William  Houston,  Morris  Howe,  and  Alex- 
ander McCaine  were  entertained,  and  the  actions  of  their  re- 
spective conferences  were  reversed.  The  case  of  William  Burke, 
expelled  from  the  Ohio  Conference,  was  taken  up,  and  the 
action  of  the  Conference  was  confirmed.  It  may  be  proper  to 
state  that  Mr.  Burke  was  expelled  on  no  charge  of  immorality, 
but  because  of  a  variance  with  his  presiding  elder,  and  insub- 
ordination. 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  reported,  that  in  view  of  the 
continued  bodily  affliction  and  debility  of  Bishop  McKendree, 
he  be  relieved  of  many  of  his  episcopal  duties,  and  allowed 
to  travel  in  such  directions  and  remain  in  such  places  as  he 
may  judge  most  conducive  to  his  own  health  and  comfort; 


The  General  Conference. 


[1820. 


and  that  it  was  expedient  to  elect  and  ordain  one  general 
superintendent  at  this  session  of  the  General  Conference.  The 
report  being  adopted,  on  Saturday,  May  13th,  the  Conference 
proceeded  to  the  election  of  a  bishop.  On  counting  the  bal- 
lots, Joshua  Soule  had  47  votes  and  Xathan  Bangs  38.  Mr. 
Soule  having  the  majority  was  therefore  elected. 

In  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Education  it  was  rec- 
ommended, and  the  Conference  resolved,  That  all  the  annual 
conferences  establish  institutions  of  learning  under  their  con- 
trol ;  that  the  bishops  use  their  influence  to  carry  this  resolution 
into  effect;  and  that  they  may  appoint  preachers  to  be  presi- 
dents, principals,  or  teachers  in  said  institutions. 

The  Conference  ordered  that  in  future  no  house  of  worship 
shall  be  erected,  or  the  building  of  the  same  be  undertaken, 
until  the  site  of  ground  on  which  such  house  or  houses  are  to 
be  placed  is  secured  to  the  Church  by  a  deed  of  settlement  in 
fee  simple,  legally  executed  and  recorded.  Three-fourths  of 
the  money  necessary  to  complete  the  building  must  be  in  hand, 
or  subscribed,  before  the  building  is  commenced.  The  presid- 
ing elders  and  preachers  in  charge  were  directed  to  make  proper 
inquiries  concerning  the  titles  of  our  present  places  of  worship; 
and  in  all  cases  where  the  title  is  imperfect,  to  use  the  most 
judicious  and  prudent  measures  to  perfect  such  titles ;  and  when 
vacancies  exist  in  the  boards  of  trustees,  to  have  the  vacancies 
filled  as  directed  in  the  Discipline.  And  further,  the  sittings 
in  all  our  churches  shall  be  free,  and  no  pews  shall  be  rented 
or  sold. 

The  question  of  electing  presiding  elders  in  each  conference 
was  introduced,  and  the  matter  discussed  during  several  days 
of  the  session.  On  Friday,  May  19th,  Ezekiel  Cooper  reported 
the  action  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  with  regard  to  this 
subject.    They  say: 

"The  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the  bishops  on  a  plan 
to  conciliate  the  wishes  of  the  brethren  on  the  subject  of  choosing 
presiding  elders,  recommend  to  the  Conference  the  adoption  of  the 
following  resolutions,  to  be  inserted  in  their  proper  place  in  the  Dis- 
cipline:— 

"Resolved,  1.  That  whenever,  in  any  annual  conference,  there 
shall  be  a  vacancy  or  vacancies  in  the  office  of  presiding  elder,  in 
consequence  of  his  period  of  service  of  four  years  having  expired,  or 


1820.] 


The  General  Conference. 


87 


the  bishop  wishing  to  remove  any  presiding  elder,  or  by  death,  resig- 
nation or  otherwise,  the  bishop  or  president  of  the  conference  having 
ascertained  the  number  wanted  from  any  of  these  causes,  shall 
nominate  three  times  the  number,  out  of  which  the  conference  shall 
elect  by  ballot,  without  debate,  the  number  wanted :  Provided,  also, 
that  in  case  of  any  vacancy  or  vacancies  in  the  office  of  presiding 
elder  in  the  interval  of  any  annual  conference,  the  bishop  shall  have 
authority  to  fill  the  said  vacancy  or  vacancies  until  the  ensuing 
annual  conference. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  the  presiding  elders  be,  and  they  hereby  are, 
made  the  advisory  council  of  the  bishop  or  president  of  the  confer- 
ence in  stationing  the  preachers." 

This  report  was  signed  by  Ezekiel  Cooper,  Stephen  G.  Eos- 
zel,  Nathan  Bangs,  Joshua  Wells,  John  Emory,  and  William 
Capers,  the  committee.  On  being  read,  it  was  put  to  vote,  each 
resolution  separately,  and  carried — sixty-one  to  twenty-five. 
These  resolutions  were  then  recommitted  to  the  same  com- 
mittee, in  order  to  be  incorporated  in  that  section  of  the  Dis- 
cipline relating  to  the  presiding  elders. 

The  minority  were  much  aggrieved  at  this  action  of  the 
General  Conference,  considering  it  an  infringement  on  the 
rights  of  the  bishops,  and  in  violation  of  the  Constitution. 
Joshua  Soule,  bishop-elect,  was  the  leader  of  the  opposition. 
His  convictions  were  so  strong  that  he  refused  to  be  ordained, 
alleging  that  he  could  not  conscientiously  submit  to  have  the 
episcopal  prerogative  and  power  curtailed,  and  he  felt  that 
he  could  not  therefore  carry  the  new  rule  into  execution. 
Besides,  his  election  took  place  before  the  rule  was  adopted. 

The  Conference  ordered  that  the  Book  Agents  have  leave  to 
publish  any  book,  not  before  published  by  them,  which  should 
be  approved  and  recommended  by  the  Book  Committee  in 
New  York.  It  also  determined  that  an  additional  book  agent 
be  appointed,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  reside  in  Cincinnati, 
and  manage  the  book  business  in  the  western  states,  under  the 
direction  of  the  editor  in  New  York — the  person  so  appointed 
to  be  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Conference.  This  Conference  was 
authorized  to  appoint  a  book  committee  of  three,  to  examine 
the  accounts  of  the  western  agent,  and  report  annually. 

Nathan  Bangs  was  elected  editor  and  general  book  steward 
for  New  York,  with  Thomas  Mason  as  assistant.  Martin  Euter 
was  elected  for  Cincinnati. 


88 


The  General  Conference. 


[1820. 


The  bishops  were  requested  to  send  a  delegate  to  the  British 
Conference  at  their  next  session,  and  to  furnish  him  with  the 
necessary  instructions — the  expenses  of  the  delegate  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  funds  of  the  Book  Concern. 

Joshua  Soule  haying  signified  in  a  letter  to  the  bishops, 
which  was  read  before  the  Conference,  that  if  he  were  ordained 
a  bishop  he  would  not  hold  himself  bound  by  a  certain  reso- 
lution of  the  Conference  relative  to  the  nomination  and  election 
of  presiding  elders,  the  resolution  following  was  offered: 

"Resolved,  That  the  bishops  be  earnestly  requested  by  this  Con- 
ference to  defer  or  postpone  the  ordination  of  the  said  Joshua  Soule 
until  he  gives  satisfactory  explanations  to  this  Conference." 

This  resolution  evidently  regarded  Mr.  Soule  as  guilty  of 
contumacy.  After  a  brief  debate,  Mr.  Soule  made  some  re- 
marks, exjolanatory  of  his  position,  and  by  consent  the  reso- 
lution was  withdrawn.  It  was  then  moved  that  the  action  of 
the  Conference  concerning  the  presiding  eldership  be  recon- 
sidered; but  without  coming  to  any  decision  on  the  subject, 
the  Conference  adjourned  for  the  day.  On  the  next  day  it 
was  moved  to  postpone  the  reconsideration,  to  give  time  for 
thought  and  deliberation,  so  as  to  promote  peace  and  harmony. 
The  postponement  was  not  agreed  to,  and  the  vote  to  recon- 
sider the  resolutions  heretofore  passed,  being  taken  by  ballot, 
there  was  a  tie;  43  for  to  43  against.  A  repetition  of  the  ballot 
showed  the  same  result. 

Bishop  George  announced  that  the  bishops  had  deferred 
the  ordination  of  Joshua  Soule;  but  on  Thursday,  May  25th, 
he  informed  the  Conference  that  the  ordination  of  the  bishop 
elect  would  take  place  that  day  at  twelve  o'clock.  Mr.  Soule 
immediately  arose,  and  presented  a  communication,  resigning 
the  office  of  a  general  superintendent,  to  which  he  had  been 
elected.  The  letter  of  resignation  was  laid  on  the  table,  and 
at  twelve  o'clock  the  Conference  adjourned.  In  the  afternoon 
Mr.  Soule  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Conference  would  come  to  a 
decision  at  once  on  his  letter  of  resignation,  which  he  had 
offered  in  the  morning.  On  motion,  it  was  agreed  that  the 
decision  be  deferred  until  the  next  day. 

The  Committee  on  the  "Life  of  Bishop  Asbury"  reported, 


1820.] 


The  General  Conference. 


89 


recommending  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  assist 
Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings,  in  furnishing  such  further  facts  and  in- 
formation as  may  be  obtained  concerning  the  bishop,  and  in 
revising  the  manuscript,  and  that  the  sum  of  $225  be  allowed 
for  the  expense  of  preparing  it  so  far  as  it  is  completed.  When 
finished,  the  book  agents  and  book  committee  should  deter- 
mine what  further  sum  shall  be  allowed  to  Dr.  Jennings. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society  was  amended, 
and  a  copy  given  to  the  Corresponding  Secretary  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  managers.  The  ratio  of  representation  in  the 
General  Conference  was  fixed  at  one  delegate  for  every  seven 
members  of  the  General  Conference,  and  Baltimore  was  chosen 
as  the  place  for  holding  the  next  session. 

The  letter  of  resignation  presented  by  Joshua  Soule  was 
called  for  and  read,  and  a  motion  was  passed  requesting  him 
to  withdraw  his  resignation  and  comply  with  the  wishes  of  his 
brethren  in  submitting  to  be  ordained.  Mr.  Soule,  who  was 
absent  from  the  Conference  room  when  the  vote  was  taken, 
came  in  immediately  afterward,  and  again  stated  his  purpose 
to  resign.   His  resignation  was  accepted. 

It  had  been  moved  in  the  morning  session,  "that  the  rule 
passed  at  this  Conference  respecting  the  nomination  and  election 
of  presiding  elders  be  suspended  until  the  next  General  Con- 
ference; and  that  the  superintendents  be  and  they  are  hereby 
directed  to  act  under  the  old  rule  respecting  the  appointment 
of  presiding  elders." 

A  motion  to  postpone  this  resolution  was  negatived  by  a 
vote  of  thirty-nine  to  forty-four,  and  it  was  then  laid  on  the 
table.  After  Mr.  Soule's  resignation  was  accepted,  the  question 
was  taken  up,  and  on  being  put  to  vote  was  carried  by  dividing 
the  house,  forty-five  on  one  side  to  thirty-five  on  the  other. 

The  bishops  who  should  attend  the  New  York  Conference, 
and  three  members  of  the  Conference,  Joshua  Soule,  Nathan 
Bangs,  and  Daniel  Ostrander,  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  revise  the  Discipline. 

The  expenses  of  the  delegates  were  ordered  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  funds  belonging  to  the  Book  Concern,  the  entire  amount 
being  $1,673.19.  Eesolutions  of  thanks  were  passed,  and  on 
the  27th  day  of  May  the  Conference  adjourned. 


1824. 


THE  ninth  General  Conference  met  in  Baltimore  on  Satur- 
day, May  1,  1824,  and  was  opened  with  religions  exercises 
by  Bishop  McKendree.  John  Emory  was  elected  secretary. 
One  hundred  and  twent}T-five  delegates,  from  the  twelve  annual 
conferences,  were  present.  Richard  Eeece  and  John  Hannah, 
representatives  from  the  British  Conference,  were  introduced, 
and  Mr.  Eeece  presented  an  address  from  his  Conference,  with 
the  proper  credentials,  and  made  a  very  affectionate  and  inter- 
esting address. 

An  address  from  the  senior  bishop  was  presented  and  read, 
and  laid  on  the  table  until  rules  of  order  should  be  adopted. 
The  following  committees  were  appointed:  On  Episcopacy, 
Boundaries,  Itinerancy,  Local  Ministers,  Book  Concern,  Mis- 
sions, Churches  and  Parsonages,  People  of  Color,  Eevisals  and  ■ 
Unfinished  Business,  Canadian  Affairs,  and  on  Addresses,  Pe- 
titions, Memorials,  etc. 

The  various  topics  spoken  of  in  the  bishops'  address  were 
referred  to  the  appropriate  committees.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  address  the  British  Conference  in  answer  to  their 
communication  addressed  to  the  American  General  Conference, 
through  Doctors  Eeece  and  Hannah.  Dr.  Eeece  was  requested 
to  favor  the  Conference  with  such  suggestions  and  views  as  he 
might  be  pleased  to  make. 

A  communication  from  the  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Eund 
was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Itinerancy.  A  vacancy  in  the 
Board  was  filled  by  the  election  of  Thomas  Jackson. 

Through  some  carelessness  on  the  part  of  the  former  secre- 
tary or  custodian,  a  few  of  the  papers  belonging  to  the  General 
Conference  placed  in  the  Conference  trunk  were  injured  by  a 
bottle  of  ink  being  broken  among  them ;  but  a  special  committee 
of  scrutiny  reported  that  all  were  legible  except  an  exhibit  of 
the  Book  Concern  in  Xew  York,  which  was  totally  defaced. 

Early  in  the  session  the  question  of  increasing-  the  number 
of  the  bishops  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy. 
The  health  of  Bishop  McKendree  was  still  infirm,  and  he 

90 


1824.] 


The  General  Conference. 


91 


arranged  with  his  colleagues  for  them  to  occupy  the  chair 
during  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  most  of  the  time. 

With  reference  to  the  publication  of  books,  the  Committee 
on  the  Book  Concern  were  directed  to  inquire  whether  books 
containing  doctrines  contrary  to  those  believed  and  inculcated 
by  the  Church  do  not  issue  from  our  presses;  whether  it  is 
expedient  to  purchase  for  distribution  among  our  societies 
books  from  other  publishers;  and  whether  a  cheaper  binding 
of  our  books  may  not  be  used.  Up  to  this  date  all  the  volumes 
published  by  the  Book  Concern  had  been  bound  with  leather 
covers,  calf  or  sheep — both  more  expensive  than  cloth. 

The  cause  of  education  has  always  interested  the  Church. 
Some  of  our  earlier  attempts  at  establishing  colleges  proved 
a  failure.  Private  institutions  for  the  training  of  Methodist 
youths  were  undertaken,  and  some  of  the  conferences  had 
under  their  control  academies  or  seminaries;  but  there  was 
no  school  of  high  grade  now  in  existence.  Hence  the  Committee 
on  Education  were  directed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  and 
practicability  of  establishing  a  general  seminary  of  learning, 
or  college,  under  the  supervision  of  the  General  Conference. 

As  there  was  at  this  time  in  some  of  the  societies  of  the 
Church  much  talk  about  lay  representation  in  its  higher  coun- 
cils, the  following  resolution  was  introduced  and  passed: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Committee  of  Address  on  Petitions,  etc.,  be 
instructed  to  inquire  into  the  expediency  ot  directing  the  several 
annual  conferences  to  take  measures  to  ascertain  the  sentiments  of 
our  preachers,  traveling  and  local,  and  also  of  the  members  of  our 
Church,  on  the  subject  of  a  lay  delegation,  and  report  the  result  to 
the  next  General  Conference." 

This  resolution  was  offered  before  the  extreme  and  im- 
politic agitation  of  the  subject  by  the  so-called  "Reformers" 
had  been  inaugurated  or  outlined.  As  will  be  seen  hereafter 
they  were  unwilling  to  wait;  and  though  the  ends  they  pro- 
posed may  have  been  just  and  equitable,  they  were  hasty  in 
action  and  intemperate  in  the  use  of  language.  Invective 
never  ascends  to  the  dignity  of  an  argument. 

Certain  changes  were  ordered  to  be  made  in  the  Discipline, 
most  of  which  tended  to  a  greater  simplicity  in  the  govern- 
ment and  methods  of  the  Church,  and  giving  the  annual  con- 


92 


The  General  Conference. 


[1824. 


ferences  more  power  to  regulate  matters  of  a  strictly  local 
character,  such  as  the  building  of  churches,  their  relation  to 
slavery  in  the  slave  states,  the  appointment  of  trustees  for 
Church  property,  etc.  Those  who  held  slaves  were  urged  to 
teach  them  to  read  the  Bible,  and  to  allow  colored  preachers  to 
attend  the  quarterly  conferences.  Presiding  elders  were  also 
authorized  to  hold  quarterly  conferences  for  colored  preachers 
exclusively,  if  they  thought  best. 

The  relations  of  the  Conference  in  Canada  to  those  in  the 
United  States  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  Affairs 
of  Canada  to  be  amicably  adjusted,  though  Canadian  Meth- 
odism was  not  made  independent. 

William  Burke,  of  Cincinnati,  appealed  to  the  General  Con- 
ference against  the  action  of  the  Ohio  Conference  which  ex- 
pelled him  from  the  ministry,  and  he  was  allowed  to  speak  in 
his  own  behalf.  The  Ohio  Conference  was  represented  by  John 
Waterman.  When  the  vote  was  taken,  the  action  of  that  Con- 
ference was  affirmed. 

A  committee  was  appointed  on  disputed  accounts  between 
the  Book  Concern  and  certain  individuals,  with  authority  to 
adjust  the  same. 

The  following  resolution,  offered  by  David  Young,  was 
carried  T}y  a  vote  of  63  for  to  61  against: 

"Whereas,  A  majority  of  the  annual  conferences  have  judged 
the  resolutions  making  presiding  elders  elective,  and  which  were 
passed  and  then  suspended  at  the  last  General  Conference,  unconsti- 
tutional ;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  said  resolutions  are  not  of  authority,  and 
shall  not  be  carried  into  effect." 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  inquire  what  is 
necessary  to  be  done  by  this  General  Conference  in  reference 
to  the  "Life  of  Bishop  Asbury."  The  Committee  on  Episcopacy 
having  recommended  that  the  episcopacy  be  strengthened  by 
the  election  of  two  bishops,  the  Conference  proceeded  to  bal- 
lot for  the  same.  On  the  first  ballot,  12$  votes  were  cast, 
of  which  Joshua  Soule  received  64  votes,  William  Beauchamp 
62,  Elijah  Hedding  61,  John  Emory  59,  Martin  Euter  5,  Lewis 
Myers  2,  and  N.  Bangs,  P.  P.  Sandford  and  D.  Ostrander  1 
each.    The  number  necessary  to  elect  being  65,  and  no  choice 


1824.] 


The  General  Conference. 


93 


being  made,  a  second  ballot  was  taken  with  the  following  re- 
sult: Joshua  Soule  received  65  votes;  Elijah  Hedding,  64; 
William  Beauchamp,  62;  John  Emory,  58;  L.  Myers,  2;  Martin 
Euter,  2;  John  Hedding,  1.  Joshua  Soule  having  the  requisite 
number  of  votes  was  therefore  elected.  No  other  choice  being 
made,  the  Conference  proceeded  to  ballot  the  third  time  for 
the  second  general  superintendent.  Previously  to  the  third 
balloting,  John  Emory  begged  the  Conference  to  accept  his 
acknowledgment  of  the  respectful  notice  taken  of  his  name  in 
the  votes  just  cast,  and  requested  that  he  might  not  be  con- 
sidered in  nomination  in  the  subsequent  balloting.  The  Con- 
ference then  proceeded  to  ballot  for  the  third  time.  One  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  votes  were  given,  of  which  Elijah  Hed- 
ding had  66;  William  Beauchamp,  60;  J.  Emory,  1;  and  blank, 
1.    Elijah  Hedding  was  declared  to  be  duly  elected. 

The  representatives  sent  by  the  British  Conference  on  be- 
half of  Methodism  in  Great  Britain,  Eichard  Eeece  and  John 
Hannah,  were  both  requested  to  preach  sermons  before  the 
General  Conference  during  the  session.  This  was  accordingly 
done  at  the  times  arranged  for,  to  the  great  satisfaction  and 
edification  of  the  Conference,  which  further  requested  copies 
of  the  same  for  publication,  as  also  of  Dr.  Eeece's  address,  as 
delegate. 

For  the  New  York  Book  Concern,  Nathan  Bangs  was  elected 
editor  and  general  Book  Steward,  and  John  Emory  was  elected 
Assistant  Book  Agent.  For  the  Western  Book  Concern,  Martin 
Euter  was  elected  agent. 

The  Committee  on  the  "Life  of  Bishop  Asbury"  reported, 
and  it  was  ordered, '  That  Dr.  Samuel  K.  Jennings  be  respect- 
fully requested  to  deliver  the  materials  in  his  possession,  to- 
gether with  the  manuscripts  of  Bishop  Asbury's  Life  as  far 
as  he  has  written  it,  into  the  hands  of  William  Beauchamp, 
and  that  Brother  Beauchamp  make  use  of  them,  and  all  other 
materials  within  his  reach,  in  the  preparation  of  a  Life  of 
Bishop  Asbury.  Mr.  Beauchamp  died  only  a  short  time  after 
the  Conference  adjourned,  without  having  written  the  proposed 
Life.  What  became  of  the  manuscripts  of  Mr.  Jennings  does' 
not  appear  in  the  Journal. 

The  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  prepared  an  ad- 


94 


The  General  Conference. 


[1824. 


dress  to  the  British  Conference,  which  was  adopted,  and  the 
bishops  were  authorized  and  requested  to  appoint  a  delegate 
to  visit  the  British  Conference  in  1826.  The  Editor  of  the 
Book  Concern  in  New  York  was  given  permission  to  print  the 
Address  of  the  British  Conference,  and  the  Reply  from  the 
General  Conference,  and  also  the  Address  of  the  bishop  to  the 
General  Conference,  and  the  Report  on  Missions. 

It  was  made  the  duty  of  the  preachers,  as  far  as  practicable, 
to  encourage  Sunday-schools,  to  form  the  children  of  their  con- 
gregations into  classes  for  religious  instruction,  and  to  instruct 
them  personally,  or  to  appoint  suitable  leaders  for  this  purpose, 
and  to  leave  to  their  successors  a  correct  account  of  each  class, 
and  the  name  of  the  leader.  It  was  recommended  that  each 
annual  conference  not  having  a  seminary  of  learning  use  the 
utmost  exertion  to  establish  one;  and  the  preachers  were  to 
use  their  influence  to  introduce  teachers,  whose  learning,  piety, 
and  religious  tenets  they  could  recommend,  into  schools. 

The  bishops-elect,  having  consented  to  receive  ordination, 
were  consecrated  to  office  on  Friday,  May  28th.  The  com- 
mittee on  the  recognition  of  the  validity  of  ordinations  re- 
ceived in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  and  other  Churches  reported 
that  they  had  not  come  to  any  decision  on  the  subject,  and 
asked  to  be  discharged  from  the  further  consideration  of  it. 
The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  matter  was  left  as  unfinished 
business. 

Although  the  "suspended  resolutions"  had  already  been 
declared  "not  of  authority,"  and  that  they  "shall  not  be  carried 
into  effect,"  Lewis  Myers  moved  to  take  up  the  resolution  rela- 
tive to  them,  by  first  suspending  the  rules  of  the  Conference 
for  this  purpose.  The  rules  were  not  suspended,  two-thirds 
not  voting  in  the  affirmative.  It  was  then  moved  by  Robert 
Paine,  "That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that  the 
suspended  resolutions,  making  the  presiding  elders  elective,  etc., 
are  considered  as  unfinished  business,  and  are  neither  to  be 
inserted  in  the  revised  form  of  the  Discipline,  nor  to  be  carried 
into  operation  before  the  next  General  Conference."  The 
rules  of  the  Conference  were  on  motion  suspended  to  consider 
the  above  resolution,  which  was  then  adopted. 

The  Committee  on  Addresses,  Memorials,  and  Petitions  re- 


1824.] 


The  General  Conference. 


95 


ported  that  it  was  inexpedient  to  recommend  a  lay  delegation, 
and  submitted  a  circular,  to  be  signed  by  the  bishops,  and  sent 
in  answer  to  the  memorials,  petitions,  etc.  The  book  agents 
were  directed  to  print  fifteen  hundred  copies  to  be  directed  to 
the  memorialists,  or  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  presiding  elders 
to  be  distributed  among  the  members.  As  this  circular  does 
not  appear  in.  the  Journal  of  the  General  Conference  of  1824, 
a  copy  of  it  is  inserted  here. 

Circular. 

Beloved  Brethren, 

Several  memorials  have  been  brought  up  to  the  General 
Conference,  proposing  to  change  the  present  order  of  our  Church 
Government.  By  one  or  more  of  these  it  is  proposed,  "to  admit  into 
the  Annual  Conferences,  a  lay  delegate  from  each  circuit  and  station  ; 
and  into  the  General  Conference,  an  equal  delegation  of  Ministers 
and  lay  members :"  Or,  "to  admit  a  representation  of  local  preach- 
ers and  lay  members  into  the  General  Conference ;  to  be  so  appor- 
tioned with  the  itinerant  ministry  as  to  secure  an  equilibrium  of 
influence  in  that  body:"  Or,  "that  the  General  Conference  call  a 
convention,  to  consist  of  representatives  from  each  Annual  Confer- 
ence, and  an  equal  number  of  representatives  chosen  by  the  members 
of  each  circuit  or  station,  to  form  a  constitution  which  shall  be  bind- 
ing upon  each  member  of  our  Church:"  Or,  "  that  a  representation 
of  the  local  preachers  and  the  membership  be  introduced  into  the 
General  Conference,"  either  by  electing  delegates  separately,  or  that 
the  membership  be  represented  by  the  local  ministry,  they  being 
elected  by  the  united  suffrage  of  the  local  preachers  and  lay  members. 

To  these  memorials,  as  well  as  to  others,  praying  the  continuance 
of  our  government  in  its  present  form,  we  have  given  an  attentive 
hearing  in  full  Conference;  and  after  much  reflection,  we  reply:— 

We  are  glad  to  be  assured  that  there  exists  but  one  opinion 
among  all  our  brethren,  respecting  the  importance  of  our  itinerant 
ministry ;  and  that  they  who  desire  a  change,  whether  of  the  form  of 
the  General  Conference  alone,  or  of  the  Annual  Conferences  also,  are 
moved  to  solicit  it,  rather  by  their  zeal  to  support  the  itinerancy,  than 
for  want  of  attachment  to  it.  They  would  relieve  the  preachers  of 
the  delicacy  of  fixing  the  amount  of  their  own  salaries ;  and  as  in 
this  matter  they  could  act  more  independently,  so  they  would  also 
provide  more  liberally. 

We  respectfully  acknowledge  the  candour  of  brethren,  who, 
although  they  intimate  that  it  is  unseemly  for  the  preachers  to  deter- 
mine their  own  salaries,  yet  do  not  pretend  that  their  allowance  is 
excessive,  nor  that  they  claim  a  right  to  demand  it.    It  is  true  that 


96 


The  General  Conference. 


[1824. 


the  deficiency  of  quarterage  is  so  general,  in  such  large  proportions, 
that  the  Conference  collections,  and  the  dividends  from  the  Book 
Concern  and  Chartered  Fund  have  never  been  sufficient  to  supply  it  : 
and  indeed,  the  Conference  Stewards  usually  settle  with  the  preach- 
ers, at  a  discount  of  from  thirty  to  sixty  per  cent. 

But  we  presume  that  these  facts  have  been  generally  known ;  so 
that  whatever  injury  may  be  sustained  from  the  scantiness  of  our 
support,  is  attributable  not  to  the  improvidence  of  the  rule  which 
limits  the  amount,  but  to  some  other  cause  ;  and  whatever  that  cause 
may  be,  we  at  least  have  no  information  that  the  people  refuse  to 
contribute,  because  they  are  not  represented.  Indeed,  it  would 
grieve  us  to  know  this ;  for  even  though  they  should  refuse  to  ac- 
knowledge us  as'  their  representatives  in  the  General  Conference, 
they  can  not  do  less  for  the  love  of  Christ,  than  they  would  oblige 
themselves  to  do  out  of  love  for  authority. 

We  rejoice  to  know  that  the  proposed  change  is  not  contem- 
plated as  a  remedy  for  evils  which  now  exist  in  some  infraction  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  people,  as  defined  to  them  by  the  form  of 
discipline ;  but  that  it  is  offered,  either  in  anticipation  of  the  possible 
existence  of  such  evils,  or  else  on  a  supposition  of  abstract  rights, 
which  in  the  opinion  of  some,  should  form  a  basis  of  our  government. 

The  rights  and  privileges  of  our  brethren,  as  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  we  hold  most  sacred.  We  are  uncon- 
scious of  having  infringed  them  in  any  instance ;  nor  would  we  do 
so.  The  limitations  and  restrictions,  which  describe  the  extent  of 
our  authority  in  General  Conference,  and  beyond  which  we  have 
never  acted,  vindicate  our  sincerity  in  this  assertion.  By  those 
"  restrictions,"  it  is  put  out  of  the  power  of  the  General  Conference 
"  to  revoke,  alter  or  change  our  articles  of  religion ;  or  to  revoke  or 
change  the  general  rules,"  or,  "to  do  away  the  privileges  of  our 
members  of  trial  before  the  Society  or  by  a  committee,  and  of  an 
appeal."  The  general  rules  and  the  articles  of  religion,  form  to 
every  member  of  our  Church,  distinctively,  a  constitution,  by  which 
as  Methodists  and  as  Christians,  ye  do  well  to  be  governed ;  and  we, 
assembled  together  to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  Church, 
most  cheerfully  acknowledge  that  the  restrictions  above  mentioned, 
are  as  solemnly  binding  upon  us  as  the  general  rules  are  upon  both 
us  and  you  individually. 

These  restrictions  are  to  you  the  guarantee  of  your  "rights  and 
privileges,"  and  while  we  shall  be  governed  by  these  as  such,  we  will 
also  regard  them  as  the  pledge  of  your  confidence  in  us. 

But  if  by  "rights  and  privileges,"  it  is  intended  to  signify  some- 
thing foreign  from  the  institutions  of  the  Church,  as  we  received 
them  from  our  fathers,  pardon  us  if  we  know  no  such  rights,  if  we  do 
not  comprehend  such  privileges.  With  our  brethren  everywhere,  we 
rejoice  that  the  institutions  of  our  happy  country  are  admirably  cal- 
culated to  secure  the  best  ends  of  civil  government.    AVith  their 


1824.] 


The  General  Conference. 


97 


rights,  as  citizens  of  these  United  States,  the  Church  disclaims  all 
interference ;  but,  that  it  should  be  inferred  from  these,  what  are 
your  rights  as  Methodists,  seems  to  us  no  less  surprising,  than  if  your 
Methodism  should  be  made  the  criterion  of  your  rights  as  citizens. 
We  believe  the  proposed  change  to  be  inexpedient: 

1.  Because  it  would  create  a  distinction  of  interests  between  the 
itinerancy  and  the  membership  of  the  Church. 

2.  Because  it  presupposes  that,  either  the  authority  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  "to  make  rules  and  regulations,"  for  the  Church,  or 
the  manner  in  which  this  authority  has  been  exercised,  is  displeas- 
ing to  the  Church ;  the  reverse  of  which  we  believe  to  be  true. 

3.  Because  it  would  involve  a  tedious  procedure,  inconvenient  in 
itself,  and  calculated  to  agitate  the  Church  to  her  injury. 

4.  Because  it  would  give  to  those  districts  which  are  conven- 
iently situated,  and  could  therefore  secure  the  attendance  of  their 
delegates,  an  undue  influence  in  the  government  of  the  Church. 

With  respect  to  lesser  matters,  mentioned  in  the  memorials,  we 
respectfully  refer  you  to  the  revised  copy  of  the  discipline  forthwith 
to  be  published. 

Signed  by  order  of  the  General  Conference. 

WILLIAM  M'KENDREE. 
ENOCH  GEORGE. 
ROBERT  R.  ROBERTS. 

Baltimore,  May  25,  1824. 

The  resolutions  of  the  General  Conference  which  are  not 
made  a  part  of  the  Discipline,  but  which  relate  to  the  duties 
of  preachers  on  their  circuits,  etc.,  were  ordered  to  be  printed 
by  the  book  agents  as  circulars,  and  sent  to  the  several  districts 
to  be  given  by  the  presiding  elders  to  the  preachers.  It  is 
now  customary  to  print  these  resolutions  and  advices  of  the 
General  Conference,  with  other  items  of  interest  to  the  Church, 
as  an  Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 

Pittsburgh  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  General 
Conference  of  1828.  Bishop  McKendree  was  requested  to  con- 
tinue to  render  such  aid  as  he  could  to  the  episcopacy,  con- 
sistently with  his  age  and  infirmities,  when  and  where  it  might 
best  suit  his  own  convenience,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  last  General  Conference  for  meeting  his  con- 
tingent expenses  be  continued.  This  was  intended  to  embrace 
all  expenses  that  may  arise,  either  from  personal  infirmity 
or  necessary  aid  in  a  traveling  companion,  or  otherwise. 

The  bishops  were  requested  jointly  to  address  a  pastoral 
7 


98 


The  General  Conference. 


[1824. 


letter  to  our  people  at  as  early  a  day  as  might  be  convenient, 
and  the  book  agents  were  directed  to  publish  eight  thousand 
five  hundred  copies  thereof,  and  distribute  them  for  circulation 
to  the  presiding  elders  throughout  the  Connection.  The  bish- 
ops were  also  authorized  so  to  arrange  their  work  among  them- 
selves as  best  to  suit  their  condition  of  health,  strength,  and 
general  supervision,  and  to  meet  annually  for  this  purpose. 

A  large  number  of  changes  and  additions  were  made  in  the 
Discipline,  some  of  them  merely  verbal;  and  in  order  to  have 
these  alterations  properly  incorporated,  Xathan  Bangs,  Daniel 
Ostrander,  and  Peter  P.  Sandford  were  appointed  to  edit  it 
preparatory  to  printing  the  new  edition. 

The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  increased  from 
twelve  to  seventeen,  and  the  boundaries  of  each  were  defined. 
Much  work  was  done  affecting  the  general  interests  of  the 
Church,  and  after  a  busy  and  profitable  session,  the  Conference 
adjourned  on  the  28th  day  of  the  month. 


1828. 


"piTTSBUEGH  was  the  place  appointed  for  the  General 
Conference  of  1828.  There  were  seventeen  annual  con- 
ferences represented,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-six  delegates 
elected,  of  whom  all  were  present  at  the  beginning  of  the 
session,  except  seven.  Bishop  McKendree  opened  the  Confer- 
ence in  the  usual  manner,  after  which  John  Emory  was  ap- 
pointed secretary  pro  tern.  As  soon  as  the  organization  was 
effected,  Martin  Ruter  was  elected  secretary,  and  an  address 
from  the  bishops  was  read,  giving  a  general  view  of  the  state 
of  the  Church,  and  recommending  some  important  measures 
for  consideration.  During  the  past  four  years  there  had  been 
a  good  deal  of  restlessness  in  many  of  the  societies  on  account 
of  the  presiding  elder  question  and  the  "mutual  rights"  of 
the  clergy  and  the  laity;  and  a  large  number,  both  of  the 
preachers  and  people,  had  withdrawn  or  been  expelled  from  the 
Church  and  organized  a  new  communion.  They  were  gener- 
ally known  as  ' 'Reformers;"  their  movement  was  called  the 
"Radical"  movement;  their  leagues  were  styled  "Union  Soci- 
eties," and  the  Church  they  formed  was  named  "The  Methodist 
Protestant  Church."  There  was  bitter  feeling  on  both  sides, 
and  ecclesiastical  animosities  are  the  hardest  to  overcome. 

Committees  were  appointed  on  Public  Services,  Episcopacy, 
Itinerancy,  Expenses  of  Delegates,  Divisions  and  Boundaries, 
Book  Concern,  and  Rules  of  Order.  The  Committee  on  Rules 
of  Order  reported  on  the  second  day  of  the  session,  and  their 
report,  with  some  amendments  and  additions,  was  adopted. 
Two  hundred  copies  of  the  Rules  were  ordered  to  be  printed 
for  the  use  of  the  Conference,  together  with  the  Address  of  the 
Bishops,  and  the  names  and  lodging  places  of  the  delegates. 

The  several  matters  named  in  the  Address  of  the  Bishops 
were  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees  for  consideration; 
and  the  following  additional  committees  were  appointed:  On 
Elections  and  Privileges,  Sunday-schools  and  Tracts,  Appoint- 
ment of  a  delegate  to  the  British  Conference,  Education,  Me- 
morials and  Petitions,  Local  Preachers,  Ardent  Spirits  (or  Tem- 

99 


100 


The  General  Conference. 


[1828. 


perance),  Churches  and  Parsonages,  Temporal  Economy,  and 
Eevisal  and  Unfinished  Business. 

The  Canada  brethren  presented  a  petition,  praying  that  they 
be  separated  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  (their  work  was  now  connected 
with  the  Canada  Conference).  This  petition  was  referred  to  a 
select  committee  of  seven,  but  was  finally  not  granted.  It  was 
ordered  that  petitions  and  memorials  be  hereafter  called  for  in 
the  order  of  the  conferences,  as  printed  in  the  Minutes,  begin- 
ning with  the  Pittsburgh  Conference. 

Joshua  Piandall,  who  was  expelled  from  the  New  England 
Conference  for  denying  that  there  is  any  need  of  an  atonement 
for  sin,  appealed  to  the  Conference;  but  after  a  full  hearing  of 
the  case,  the  decision  of  his  conference  was  sustained.  The 
Committee  on  Eevisal  and  Unfinished  Business  was  instructed 
to  take  the  Discipline  under  review,  and  report  what  alterations 
it  may  be  important  to  make  in  its  phraseology. 

The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  was  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  having  a  copy  of  the  yearly 
reports  of  the  Book  Committee  at  New  York  forwarded  to  each 
of  the  annual  conferences.  William  Houston,  who  had  been 
located  against  his  will  by  the  Baltimore  Conference,  appealed 
from  this  action;  which,  upon  hearing,  was  reversed.  "William 
Cunningham  and  Charles  Waddel,  of  the  Ohio  Conference; 
"William  C.  Pool  and  Dennis  B.  Dorsey,  of  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference; and  Joseph  Crawford,  of  the  New  York  Conference, 
also  appealed.  After  a  proper  consideration  of  their  cases,  the 
action  of  their  conferences  was  allowed  to  stand; — the  appeals 
of  Cunningham,  Waddel,  and  Crawford  not  being  admitted. 
Dennis  B.  Dorsey  and  William  C.  Pool  had  been  expelled  from 
their  conference  for  agitating  on  the  subject  of  ecclesiastical 
"reform,"  forming  "Union  Societies,"  circulating  inflammatory 
documents,  especially  the  "Mutual  Plights,"  published  by 
the  "Eeformers,"  sowing  dissensions  and  fomenting  discontent 
among  the  members  of  the  Church;  but  as  this  was  regarded 
as  leading  to  schism  rather  than  an  immoralit)r,  the  Confer- 
ence, on  motion  of  John  Emory,  adopted  a  preamble  and  reso- 
lutions intended  to  cover  these  and  similar  cases,  and  to  secure 
their  restoration  to  the  Church.    The  terms  on  which  persons 


1828.] 


T/ie  General  Conference. 


101 


who  had  been  expelled  or  withdrawn  might  be  restored  were 
stated  in  the  resolution  as  follows: 

"If  any  persons  expelled  as  aforesaid  feel  free  to  concede  that 
publications  have  appeared  in  said  'Mutual  Rights,'  the  nature  and 
character  of  which  were  unjustifiable,  inflammatory,  and  do  not 
admit  of  justification,  and  that  others,  though  for  want  of  proper 
information,  or  unintentionally,  have  yet  in  fact  misrepresented 
individuals  and  facts,  and  that  they  regret  these  things;  if  it  be 
voluntarily  agreed,  also,  that  the  Union  Societies  above  alluded  to 
shall  be  abolished,  and  the  periodical  called  'Mutual  Rights'  be 
discontinued  at  the  close  of  the  current  volume,  which  shall  be 
completed  with  due  respect  to  the  conciliatory  and  pacific  design 
of  this  arrangement,  then  this  General  Conference  does  hereby  give 
authority  for  the  restoration  to  their  ministry  or  membership, 
respectively,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of  any  person  or 
persons  so  expelled  as  aforesaid;  provided  this  arrangement  shall 
be  mutually  assented  to  by  any  individual  or  individuals  so  ex- 
pelled, and  also  by  the  quarterly  meeting  conference  and  the  min- 
ister or  preacher  having  the  charge  in  any  circuit  or  station  within 
which  any  expulsion  may  have  taken  place;  and  that  no  such 
minister  or  preacher  shall  be  obliged,  under  this  arrangement,  to 
restore  any  such  individual  as  leader  of  any  class  or  classes,  unless 
in  his  own  discretion  he  shall  judge  it  proper  to  do  so;  and  provided, 
also,  that  it  further  be  mutually  agreed  that  no  other  periodical 
publication  to  be  devoted  to  the  same  controversy  shall  be  estab- 
lished on  either  side;  it  being  expressly  understood  at  the  same  time 
that  this,  if  agreed  to,  will  be  on  the  ground,  not  of  any  assumption 
of  rights  to  require  this,  but  of  mutual  consent  for  the  restoration 
of  peace,  and  that  no  individual  will  be  hereby  precluded  from 
issuing  any  publication  which  he  may  judge  proper  on  his  own 
responsibility.  It  is  further  understood  that  any  individual  or  in- 
dividuals, who  may  have  withdrawn  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  on  account  of  any  proceedings  in  relation  to  the  premises, 
may  also  be  restored  by  mutual  consent  under  this  arrangement, 
and  the  same  principles  as  above  stated." 

This  arrangement  did  not  effect  its  purpose,  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  not  a  single  one  of  the  expelled  or  withdrawn  "Re- 
formers'" came  back  to  the  Church. 

The  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund  reported  their  doings 
during  the  last  quadrennium,  and  George  Ireland  was  elected 
to  fill  a  vacancy  in  their  board.  The  Committee  on  Itinerancy 
reported  that  it  was.  expedient  to  send  a  delegate  or  representa- 
tive to  the  next  ensuing  British  Conference,  and  recommended 


102  The  General  Conference.  [1828. 


the  Conference  to  elect  such  delegate  at  its  present  session,  his 
.expenses  to  be  paid  by  the  Book  Concern.  The  report  was 
adopted,  and  William  Capers  was  elected  delegate.  The  bishops 
were  authorized,  in  case  the  delegate  thus  elected  should  be 
prevented  from  going,  to  appoint  one  in  his  place;  and  if  a 
delegation  to  thq  ensuing  British  Conference  should  fail  of 
going,  a  representative  should  be  sent  to  the  one  next  fol- 
lowing. 

A  communication  in  the  "Mutual  Eights"  having  reflected 
upon  the  official  conduct  and  character  of  Bishop  Hedding,  in 
relation  to  an  address  which  he  made  before  the  members  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference  in  August,  1826,  the  bishop  asked  that 
the  matter  complained  of  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy  for  examination.  The  article  was  signed  "Timothy" 
(understood  to  be  Eev.  George  Brown,  afterward  a  leading 
minister  in  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church).  The  committee 
took  the  pains  to  inquire  of  many  members  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Conference  as  to  their  recollection  of  what  the  bishop  said;  and 
a  paper  was  read  before  them,  containing  an  accurate  outline 
of  the  address,  made  by  the  author  himself,  as  well  as  he  was 
able  to  give  it,  from  his  own  recollection.  Having  thus  made 
diligent  inquiry  into  the  matter,  the  committee  in  their  report 
to  the  Conference  proceed  to  say: 

"The  bishop,  then  pointed  out  the  injustice,  misrepresentation, 
and  slander  of  his  character,  which  he  considered  as  pervading  the 
address  signed  'Timothy;'  after  which  the  author  of  that  article, 
having  been  permitted  to  address  the  committee,  acknowledged  that 
in  not  properly  distinguishing  in  two  instances,  he  had  done  in- 
justice, giving  the  general  character  of  the  bishop's  address;  that 
some  of  the  inferences  he  had  drawn  were  unjust,  and  that  as  his 
premises  were  incorrect,  all  the  inferences  drawn  from  them  might 
be  erroneous. 

"Your  committee  beg  leave  therefore  to  declare,  as  the  result 
of  their  investigation  in  this  matter,  that  they  consider  the  view 
presented  in  the  bishop's  note  to  the  editor  of  the  'Mutual  Rights' 
of  the  article  signed  'Timothy'  to  have  been  strictly  correct. 

"The  committee  would  further  declare  that,  in  their  opinion, 
the  address  of  Bishop  Hedding,  as  recollected  by  himself  and  the 
delegates  of  the  Pittsburgh  Annua]  Conference,  not  only  was  not 
deserving  of  censure,  but  was  such  as  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  rendered  it  his  official  duty  to  deliver." 


1828.] 


The  General  Conference. 


103 


The  presiding  elder  question  was  again  mooted  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a  resolution,  offered  by  Daniel  Ostrander  and  sec- 
onded by  Timothy  Merritt,  to  the  effect  that  "each  annual 
conference  shall  elect  its  own  presiding  elders  for  its  respective 
districts;  and  the  presiding  elders  when  so  chosen  shall  be  an 
efficient  council  to  assist  the  bishops  in  the  appointments  of  the 
preachers  to  their  several  circuits  and  stations/'  The  resolu- 
tion was  laid  on  the. table;  so  the  method  of  appointing  presid- 
ing elders  was  left  unchanged,  and  their  appointment  was  still 
at  the  discretion  of  the  bishops  presiding  over  the  several  con- 
ferences where  the  selection  is  made.  The  Conference  passed 
the  following  resolution,  which  thus,  for  the  time,  settled  the 
matter: 

"Resolved,  That  the  resolutions  commonly  called  the  suspended 
resolutions,  rendering  the  presiding  elders  elective,  etc.,  and  which 
were  referred  to  this  Conference  by  the  last  General  Conference 
as  unfinished  business,  and  reported  to  us  at  this  Conference,  be, 
and  the  same  are  hereby,  rescinded  and  made  void." 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  prepare  and  give  to  William 
Capers,  elected  a  delegate  to  the  British  Conference,  the  neces- 
sary commission  and  instructions  to  effect  the  important  objects 
for  which  he  was  sent,  The  Book  Concern  was  directed  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  himself  and  family  during  the  time  of  his 
absence  from  this  country. 

The  Conference  passed  resolutions  approving  of  the  objects 
proposed  and  the  measures  taken  by  the  American  Colonization 
Society.  The  Book  Committee  in  New  York  and  the  Book 
Agents,  together  with  the  bishop  or  bishops  who  may  be  pres- 
ent, were  appointed  a  committee  to  edit  the  Discipline  and 
incorporate  the  amendments  made  at  this  session  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Book 
Concern,  recommending  the  formation  of  a  Bible  Society  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
our  people  with  copies  of  the  Word  of  God  at  low  prices,  was 
adopted.  The  Society  was  formed  according  to  this  action, 
but  it  was  short-lived;  though  the  Book  Concern  has  always 
had  on  sale  its  own  editions  of  the  Bible.  For  the  general 
circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  among  our  societies,  the 
editions  of  the  American  Bible  Society  were  soon  after  recom- 


104  The  General  Conference.  [1828. 


mended,  and  annual  collections  for  that  society  have  long  been 
taken  up  in  our  Churches. 

Xathan- Bangs,  John  Earl)-,  and  Lovick  Pierce  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  British  Conference, 
to  be  delivered  through  the  delegate  appointed  to  visit  that 
Conference.  The  address  which  they  reported  was,  on  motion, 
adopted. 

The  trustees  of  every  circuit  or  station  were  made  respon- 
sible to  the  quarterly  meeting  conference  for  their  official  acts, 
and  were  required  to  present  annually  a  report  of  their  acts 
during  the  preceding  year.  It  was  made  the  duty  of  every 
preacher  of  a  circuit  or  station  to  form  Sunday-schools.  Though 
it  had  heretofore  been  the  duty  of  the  preachers  to  form  the 
children  of  their  congregations  into  classes  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  them  religious  instruction,  and  to  encourage  the  estab- 
lishment and  progress  of  Sunday-schools,  this  is  the  first  time 
when  Sunday-schools,  to  be  organized  by  the  preachers  in 
charge,  were  introduced  by  name  into  the  Discipline.  A  few 
such  schools  had  been  in  existence  in  the  Methodist  societies 
from  the  first,  but  they  were  now  made  a  regular  institution 
of  the  Church.  Provision  was  also  made  for  the  publication 
of  Sunday-school  books  and  tracts,  and  the  Child's  Magazine. 

The  Conference  ordered  that  a  change  in  the  Proviso,  added 
to  the  general  Eestrictive  Pules,  be  submitted  to  the  annual 
conferences,  so  that  it  might  read  as  follows: 

"Provided,  nevertheless,  that  upon  the  concurrent  recommenda- 
tion of  three-fourths  of  all  the  members  of  the  several  annual 
conferences  who  shall  be  present  and  vote  on  such  recommendation, 
then  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  General  Conference  succeed- 
ing shall  suffice  to  alter  any  of  such  regulations  excepting  the  first 
article. 

"And,  also,  whenever  such  alteration  or  alterations  shall  have 
first  been  recommended  by  two-thirds  of  the  General  Conference,  so 
soon  as  three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  annual  conferences 
shall  have  concurred,  as  aforesaid,  with  such  recommendation, 
such  alteration  or  alterations  shall  take  effect." 

Sundry  alterations  were  made  in  the  Discipline,  but  the 
Conference  refused  to  allow  lay  delegation  in  either  the  annual 
or  General  Conferences,  though  a  number  of  memorials  asking 
for  it  were  presented.    The  conduct  of  the  bishops  was  ap- 


1828.] 


The  General  Conference. 


105 


proved.  A  sermon  preached  by  Bishop  Soule  before  the  South 
Carolina  Conference,  and  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  was  by 
some  thought  to  contain  doctrines  at  variance  with  our  stand- 
ards; but  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  having  examined  the 
same,  reported  "that  there  is  nothing  in  the  sermon,  fairly  con- 
strued, inconsistent  with  our  articles  of  religion,  as  illustrated 
in  the  writings  of  Messrs.  Wesley  and  Fletcher."  Bishops 
McKendree  and  Hedding,  on  account  of  their  state  of  health, 
were  allowed  their  own  discretion  in  traveling  at  large  through 
the  Connexion,  and  taking  the  oversight  and  superintendence 
as  they  might  find  it  prudent  and  practicable. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Ardent  Spirits  having  been 
laid  on  the  table,  and  not  again  called  up  for  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Conference,  just  before  the  session  of  the  Conference 
closed,  Wilbur  Fisk  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions, which  were  adopted,  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  The  rules  and  examples  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodists 
from  the  commencement  of  their  existence  as  a  people,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  were  calculated  to  suppress  intemperance 
and  to  discountenance  the  needless  use  of  ardent  spirits;  and 

"Whereas,  The  public  mind  in  our  country  for  a  few  years 
past  has  been  remarkably  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the  importance 
of  this  subject;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  1.  That  we  rejoice  in  all  the  laudable  and  proper 
efforts  now  making  to  promote  this  just  object,  so  important  to 
the  interests  both  of  the  Church  and  nation. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  all  our  preachers  and  people  be  expected, 
and  they  are  hereby  expected,  to  adhere  to  their  first  principles,  as 
contained  in  their  excellent  rules  on  this  subject,  and  as  practiced 
by  our  fathers,  and  to  do  all  they  prudently  can,  both  by  precept 
and  example,  to  suppress  intemperance  throughout  the  land. 

"Resolved,  3.  That  to  bring  about  the  reformation  desired  on 
this  subject,  it  is  important  that  we  neither  drink  ourselves,  except 
medicinally,  nor  give  it  to  visitors  or  workmen." 

John  Emory  was  elected  Editor,  Agent,  and  General  Book 
Steward  for  New  York,  and  Beverly  Waugh  was  elected  As- 
sistant. Nathan  Bangs  was  elected  Editor  of  the  Christian 
Advocate  and  Journal.  For  the  Western  Book  Concern  at  Cin- 
cinnati, Charles  Holliday  was  elected  Agent. 

It  appears  that  up  to  this  year,  all  the  annual  conferences 
sat  with  closed  doors,  none  being  admitted  except  members  of 


106 


The  General  Conference, 


[1828. 


the  conference ;  even  probationers  for  the  ministry  being  ex- 
cluded. This  was  the  case  generally  with  the  General  Con- 
ference, though  by  degrees  traveling  elders,  and  other  ministers 
were  admitted  to  the  galleries  of  the  church  where  the  Con- 
ference assembled.  After  the  agitations  on  the  subject  of  lay 
representation,  which  culminated  at  this  time,  this  strictness 
was  relaxed,  until  all  the  conferences  were  opened  to  the 
public. 

Philadelphia  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
General  Conference,  and  on  Saturday,  May  24th,  the  Conference 
adjourned. 


1832. 


THE  Conference  met  this  year  in  Philadelphia,  May  1st. 
.  Bishop  Soule  opened  the  session  with  the  customary  relig- 
ious exercises.  Martin  Ruter,  Secretary  of  the  last  General  Con- 
ference, was  requested  to  call  the  roll  of  the  delegates.  Nine- 
teen conferences  were  represented,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  delegates  were  in  attendance.  After  the  Conference  was 
organized,  Thomas  L.  Douglass  was  elected  Secretary  and. 
Charles  A.  Davis  Assistant  Secretary.  The  rules  of  order  of  the 
previous  General  Conference,  with  a  few  amendments,  were 
adopted. 

An  Address  from  the  bishops  was  read,  and  on  motion  it 
was  ordered  that  three  hundred  copies  of  it  be  printed,  together 
with  the  rules  of  order,  the  names  of  the  delegates,  and  their 
places  of  abode  during  the  session.  The  following  committees 
were  appointed:  On  Episcopac}^  Itinerancy,  Boundaries, 
Privileges  and  Elections,  Missions,  Book  Concern,  Education, 
Revisals,  Bible,  Tract  and  Sunday-school  Societies,  Slavery,  in- 
cluding the  Condition,  Eights  and  Privileges  of  People  of 
Color,  Temperance,  and  the  Building  and  Occupying  of  Houses 
of  Worship.  A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  inquire  into 
the  expenses  of  the  delegates  and  report  thereon.  The  various 
topics  mentioned  in  the  Episcopal  Address  were  referred  to  the 
appropriate  committees. 

The  Committee  on  Revisals  were  instructed  to  take  into 
consideration  the  several  sections  of  the  Discipline  with  re- 
gard to  the  more  equitable  distribution  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
Book  Concern;  the  manner  of  raising  supplies  for  the  travel- 
ing preachers  and  their  families;  the  collating  and  extending 
our  statistical  tables  in  the  Minutes;  local  preachers,  and  their 
ordination;  the  receiving  and  trying  of  members;  certain 
alterations  suggested  in  the  ritual  for  baptism  and  the  Lord's 
Supper;  the  procuring  and  keeping  permanent  Church  records 
in  every  charge;  the  continuance  of  missionaries  at  home  and 
abroad  on  their  stations  for  more  than  two  years;  conduct  of 

107 


108 


The  General  Conference. 


[1832. 


members;  locating  traveling  preachers;  trials  and  expulsion 
of  Church  members,  and  sundry  changes  in  the  phraseology 
of  the  Discipline. 

An  address  from  the  delegates  of  the  Canada  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  read,  and  the  portion  of  it  relating  to 
the  claims  on  the  Book  Concern  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  the  Book  Concern,  and  that  part  relating  to  missions  to  the 
Committee  on  Missions. 

Bishop  McKendree  being  in  feeble  health  was  seldom  able 
to  be  present  during  the  sessions  of  the  Conference,  but  he 
delivered  a  brief  congratulatory  address  to  the  preachers  in 
attendance  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  Conference,  and  then  re- 
tired. Ignatius  H.  Tackett  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the 
Pittsburgh  Conference,  but  the  action  of  that  Conference  was 
not  confirmed. 

The  Conference  requested  the  bishops  to  appoint  one  of 
their  number  to  preach  a  funeral  discourse  on  the  death  of 
Bishop  George,  who  had  died  during  the  last  quadrennium, 
at  such  time  as  might  suit  their  convenience  during  the  present 
session  of  the  Conference.  The  trustees  of  the  Chartered 
Fund  asked  authority  to  seek  from  the  Pennsylvania  Legis- 
lature a  change  in  the  name  of  their  trust  from  "The  Trustees 
of  the  Fund  for  the  Belief  and  Support  of  the  Itinerant, 
Superannuated,  Worn-out  Ministers  and  Preachers  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
their  Wives  and  Children,  Widows  and  Orphans,"  to  "The 
Chartered  Fund  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States  of  America."  They  also  asked  that  the  limit 
be  removed  as  to  the  amount  of  their  income.  The  original 
title  of  the  trust  was  so  long  and  cumbrous  that  cases  had  oc- 
curred in  which  legacies  had  been  left  to  the  Fund,  misnaming 
it,  and  in  consequence  law  suits  had  occurred.  Lemuel  Green, 
one  of  the  trustees  having  died,  Aquila  A.  Browne  was  elected 
in  his  stead. 

Twenty-two  conferences  were  arranged  for  and  their  bound- 
aries were  defined.  The  Committee  on  Temperance  was  directed 
to  prepare  an  address  to  the  Church  at  large  on  the  subject 
of  temperance,  and  report  the  same  to  the  General  Conference. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  which  had  already  been  submitted 


1832.] 


The  General  Conference. 


109 


for  action  was  then  laid  on  the  table  until  the  Address  should 
be  ready. 

The  proposed  alteration  of  the  proviso  at  the  end  of  the 
Restrictive  Bules,  recommended  at  the  last  General  Conference, 
having  been  submitted  to  the  annual  conferences  for  their 
action,  was  reported  to  have  been  passed  by  all  of  them  in 
full  and  due  form.  It  was  thereupon  recommended  by  the 
Committee  on  Itinerancy  that  the  present  General  Conference 
concur  in  this  action.  On  taking  the  vote,  the  alteration  was 
adopted  unanimously. 

The  monthly  Methodist  Magazine  in  1830  was  changed  into 
a  quarterly.  The  agents  had  already  been  instructed  to  pub- 
lish portraits  of  leading  preachers  in  it,  and  several  had  ap- 
peared.  The  following  resolution  on  this  subject  was  passed: 

"Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  any  preachers,  who  shall  supply 
the  Book  Concern  with  sketches  of  their  likenesses  for  the  purpose 
of  having  them  engraved,  are  expected  to  obtain  the  sketches  at 
their  own  expense,  it  is  expedient  that  the  whole  business  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  management  of  the  Book  Agents,  leaving  them  to 
select  such  as  are  willing  to  bear  the  expenses,  and,  at  the  same 
time  having  some  respect  to  the  age  of  the  preachers  and  the  time 
they  have  been  in  the  ministry." 

This  resolution,  though  clumsily  worded,  does  not  seem  to 
be  very  encouraging  to  personal  vanity.  It  saved  the  agents 
probably  a  deal  of  correspondence  and  offense  giving. 

The  subject  of  Temperance  received  proper  attention,  both 
in  the  Committee  on  Temperance  and  in  the  Conference.  Wil- 
bur Fisk  was  requested  to  deliver  a  sermon  on  the  subject  on 
Tuesday  evening,  May  15th.  The  report  of  the  Committee 
which  had  been  laid  on  the  table  was  taken  up  and  passed, 
and  the  Address  which  they  prepared  was  adopted  on  the  last 
day  of  the  session.  It  was  ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Ad- 
vocate  and  Journal,  and  as  a  tract. 

A  communication  from  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference 
to  the  bishops  was  read  in  the  Conference,  stating  that  it  was 
not  convenient  for  them  to  send  delegates  to  visit  the  United 
States  at  the  present  session. 

The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  reported,  recommending  the 
election  of  three  additional  bishops.    The  report  was  amended 


110 


The  General  Conference. 


[1832. 


by  inserting  two  instead  of  three,  and  was  then  adopted.  Fri- 
day, May  18th,  was  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer, 
preparatory  to  the  election  of  bishops.  The  ballots  were  cast 
on  Tuesday,  22d,  and  James  Osgood  Andrew  had  one  hundred 
and  forty  votes  arid  John  Emory  had  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five.  Each  of  them  having  a  majority  of  the  whole  was  de- 
clared elected.  Both  were  ordained  on  Frida}',  Ma}r  25th,  im- 
mediately after  the  funeral  discourse  by  Bishop  McKendree 
on  the  death  of  Bishop  George. 

The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  reported,  recommending  .a 
change  in  the  Restrictive  Rules,  so  that  the  ratio  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  General  Conference,  should  be  not  more  than 
one  representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  the  annual 
conference,  nor  less  than  one  for  every  thirty;  and  if  this  change 
should  be  authorized  by  the  annual  conferences,  then  the  ratio 
for  the  General  Conference  of  1836  should  be  one  for  every 
fourteen,  and  the  change  should  be  embodied  in  the  Disciplines 
published  subsequent  to  the  vote  authorizing  the  change.  The 
report  was  adopted. 

The  Hymn  Book  heretofore  in  use  among  the  Methodists 
had  been  thoroughly  revised  and  enlarged  through  the  action 
of  the  Book  Agents  in  New  York,  a  number  of  hymns  that 
had  been  altered  by  the  former  compilers  or  editors  were 
restored  to  their  original  state,  as  they  came  from  the  poetical 
pens  of  Charles  and  John  Wesley,  a  few  were  selected  from 
other  authors,  the  two  books  of  the  old  collection  were  com- 
bined into  one,  and  the  hymns  were  arranged  under  appropriate 
heads.  This  revised  Hymn  Book  was  submitted  to  the  General 
Conference,  approved  by  that  body,  and  ordered  to  be  published 
as  the  standard  hymn-book  of  the  Church.  The  tunes  appro- 
priate to  the  several  hymns  were  printed  in  the  Methodist 
Harmonist;  and  in  the  new  Ivymn-book,  the  tune,  and  page 
where  it  could  be  found,  were  indicated  at  the  head  of  eacli 
hymn. 

The  claims  of  the  Canada  Conference,  which  by  consent 
of  the  General  Conference  had  recently  become  an  independent 
organization  under  the  name  of  "The  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  Canada,"  upon  the  Book  Concern  were  amicably 
adjusted  by  the  adoption  of  a  report  brought  in  by  the  Com- 


1832.] 


The  General  Conference. 


Ill 


mittee  on  that  subject.  The  principal  points  of  this  settlement, 
to  be  voted  on  and  concurred  in  by  the  annual  conferences  be- 
fore taking  effect,  were:  1.  The  dividend  to  be  made  according 
to  the  proportion  that  the  number  of  traveling  preachers  in 
Canada  Conference  bore  to  the  number  of]  traveling  preachers 
in  the  United  States,  superannuated  preachers  and  those  on 
trial  to  be  included.  2.  The  amount  to  be  divided  to  be 
reckoned  according  to  the  first  and  largest  estimate  of  stock 
in  the  last  exhibit  of  the  Book  Agents  ($448,745.70^)  de- 
ducting therefrom  debts  due  by  the  Concern,  annuities,-  etc., 
estimated  at  $15,728.18,  and  the  whole  amount  of  the  publish- 
ing fund,  $16,928.28,  making  a  total  reduction,  including 
credits  to  be  allowed  to  Martin  Euter  and  Charles  Holliday, 
of  $35,178.77;— leaving  the  amount  to  be  divided  $413,- 
566.933/2.  3.  The  Canada  Conference  to  receive  a  full  propor- 
tion of  the  unsalable  and  salable  stock,  and  of  the  bad  as  well 
as  the  good  debts,  considering  stock  and  debts  in  Canada  that 
belong  to  the  Book  Concern  as  so  much  of  the  dividend  already 
paid,  according  to  the  manner  of  estimating  the  whole  amount. 
4.  When  the  adjustment  should  be  made  according  to  the  fore- 
going preliminaries,  it  was  to  be  accepted  as  a  final  settlement 
of  all  claims  which  the  Canada  Conference  might  be  supposed 
to  have  on  the  Book  Concern,  or  any  other  funds  or  property 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States. 
Meanwhile,  the  Canada  Conference  was  to  receive  the  same 
equal  proportion  of  the  Book  Concern  dividends  as  before. 

The  expenses  of  the  delegates  were  found  to  amount  to 
$12,713,563^,  of  which  there  was  collected  in  the  conferences 
$7,426.73,  leaving  a  deficiency  to  be  provided  for,  of  $5,222.17^ 
($45  to  be  added  to  the  Philadelphia  and  Virginia  Conferences). 
The  balance  was  ordered  to  be  paid,  as  heretofore,  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  the  Book  Concern. 

Nathan  Bangs  was  elected  editor  of  the  '  Quarterly  Review 
and  of  books.  John  P.  Durbin  was  elected  editor  of  the  Chris- 
tian  Advocate  and  Journal,  and  Peter  Akers  assistant  editor; 
but  as  he  declined  to  serve,  Timothy  Merritt  was  elected  in  his 
stead.  Beverly  Waugh  was  elected  Book  Agent  in  New  York 
and  Thomas  Mason  Assistant  Agent,  The  Book  Committee 
having  recommended  that  there  be  two  agents  in  the  "West, 


112  The  Gerieral  Conference.  [1832. 


and  the  Conference  having  so  ordered,  Charles  Ilolliday  was 
elected  Book  Agent  for  Cincinnati,  and  John  F.  Wright 
assistant.  William  M.  Curtis  was  nominated  and  elected  agent 
at  Xew  Orleans. 

Daniel  Ostrander,  Xathan  Bangs  and  Beverly  Waugh  were 
appointed  a  Committee  to  make  the  proper  selections  from  the 
Journal  for  the  Discipline,  and  to  edit  the  same.  Wilbur  Fisk, 
-  William  Capers,  Martin  Euter,  William  McMahon  and  Fitch 
Reed  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  answer  the  letter  received 
from  the  British  Conference. 

The  bishops  were  authorized  to  ordain  to  the  episcopacy 
any  elder  whom  the  Canada  Conference  should,  previously  to 
the  next  General  Conference,  elect  to  the  office  of  bishop  in 
that  Conference.  They  were  also  authorized  to  appoint  any 
of  the  preachers  to  colleges  not  under  the  direction  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  continue  him  in  that  re- 
lation the  same  as  in  institutions  of  learning  controlled  or 
patronized  by  us. 

The  address  to  the  British  Conference,  prepared  by  the 
committee  appointed  for  this  purpose,  was  read  and  adopted. 
The  Committee  on  Revisals  reported  sundry  changes  in  the 
Discipline,  which  were  adopted;  Cincinnati  was  chosen  as  the 
place  for  holding  the  next  General  Conference;  and  on  the 
28th  day  of  the  month,  the  Conference  adjourned. 


1836. 

THE  General  Conference  this  year  met  in  Cincinnati  on 
Monday,  May  2.  The  sessions  were  held  in  Wesley  Chapel 
on  Fifth  street.  This  was  the  largest  church  in.  the  city,  hav- 
ing an  audience  capacity  for  one  thousand  persons.  It  was 
also  the  oldest  church  of  Methodism  in  Cincinnati,  the  society 
having  been  organized  in  1804.  In  the  little  graveyard  in  the 
rear  slept  the  remains  of  some  of  the  pioneer  preachers.  The 
old-time  hospitality  had  not  died  out,  and  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  finding  places  of  entertainment  for  all  of  the  delegates  and 
visiting  brethren. 

One  hundred  and  fifty  delegates  were  in  attendance,  and 
all  except  four  were  present  at  the  opening.  During  the  quad- 
rennium  Bishops  McKendree  and  Emory  had  died,  and  Bishop 
Eoberts  presided  during  the  preliminary  exercises.  Thomas 
L.  Douglass  was  elected  secretary  and  Thomas  B.  Sargent  as- 
sistant. Later  in  the  session,  John  A.  Collins  was  also  made 
an  assistant  secretary.   Eules  of  order  were  then  adopted. 

By  a  resolution  of  the  Conference,  the  bishops  were  re- 
quested to  deliver,  at  their  convenience,  during  the  session  dis- 
courses on  the  death  of  their  colleagues,  McKendree  and  Emory. 
In  compliance  with  this  request,  Bishop  Soule  preached  a 
funeral  sermon  concerning  Bishop  McKendree,  and  Bishop 
Eoberts  concerning  Bishop  Emory.  Both  discourses  were  re- 
quested for  publication.  Bishop  Soule  stated  that  all  the 
papers  of  Bishop  McKendree  had,  by  his  last  will  and  testa- 
ment, come  into  his  hands,  and  suggested  that  the  Conference 
take  some  action  in  relation  to  them,  and  direct  that  a  memoir 
of  his  life  be  published  and  an  inscription  be  prepared  for  his 
tomb.  On  motion  Bishop  Soule  was  requested  to  write  both. 
The  bishop  never  found  time  to  prepare  the  memoir,  and 
the  Life  of  Bishop  McKendree  was  not  written  until  many 
years  subsequently. 

^  An  address  from  the  British  Conference  was  presented  and 
read  on  the  second  day  of  the  session,  Irut  to  a  large  number 
of  the  members  it  was  distasteful  on  account  of  its  references 
8  113 


The  General  Conference. 


[1836. 


to  slaver}'.  Thus  that  subject  was  precipitated  upon  the  Con- 
ference early  in  the  session.  On  motion  of  Xathan  Bangs, 
it  was 

J/* 'Resolved,  That  the  address  just  read  be  referred  to  a  special 
committee  of  three,  and  that  they  be  required  to  prepare  an  answer 
as  speedily  as  practicable,  and  to  provide  for  the  appointment  of 
a  delegate  to  represent  us  to  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Conference." 

^Orange  Scott  offered  a  motion  to  print  the  Address  in  all 
the  official  journals  of  the  Church,  and  while  the  matter  was 
under  discussion,  it  was  on  motion  of  Stephen  G.  Roszel  re- 
solved to  postpone  the  further  consideration  of  printing  the 
address  until  the  committee  appointed  to  answer  it  reported 
to  the  Conference.  This  committee  consisted  of  Xathan  Bangs, 
^  William  Capers  and  Thomas  A.  Morris. 

The  usual  standing  committees  were  appointed,  and  com- 
y-  mittees  were  ordered  on  Temperance,  Allowance  of  Ministers, 
4  Parsonages  and  Churches,  Bible,  Sunday-school  and  Tract  So- 
cieties, Superannuated  Preachers  who  reside  out  of  the  bounds 
of  their  own  conferences,  and  on  Canada  affairs. 

"When  the  Conference  assembled  on  May  5th,  the  Commit- 
tee on  Answer  to  the  British  Conference  brought  in  their  re- 
port. The  section  on  the  subject  of  slavery  was  not  entirely 
acceptable;  but  most,  if  not  all,  the  objections  to  it  came  from 
members  who,  though  opposed  to  slavery  in  the  abstract,  were 
not  abolitionists.  Various  alterations  and  amendments  were 
proposed,  and  once  a  motion  was  made  to  strike  out  all  that 
related  to  slavery.  The  answer,  as  finally  adopted,  was  much 
modified  in  language,  and  neither  censured  abolitionism  nor 
condemned  slavery.  But  when  it  was  moved  to  print  both  the 
address  and  the  reply,  the  motion  was  lost. 

yX  Committee  on  Slavery  having  been  appointed,  all 
memorials  relating  to  that  subject  were  referred  to  them.  Their 
report  was  brief,  and  averse  to  any  new  action  on  the  part 
of  the  Conference,  and  any  agitation  on  the  subject. 

But  the  report  of  the  Committee  did  not  quiet  agitation  on 
the  subject,  though  it  was  adopted  by  a  large  majority.  Long 
before  the  assembling  of  the  Conference,  "the  irrepressible 
conflict"  had  begun.  It  broke  out  afresh  when  it  became  known 
that  two  of  the  members  of  the  Conference  had  attended  an 


1830.]  The  General  Conference.  115 


anti-slavery  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  and  had  there  made  abolition"? 
addresses.  These  members  were  George  Storrs  and  Samuel 
Norris,  both  of  the  New  Hampshire  Conference.  Stephen  G. 
lioszel  offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  which 
were  discussed  for  the  better  part  of  two  days,  and  then  carried 
by  a  vote,  .  on  the  first  resolution,  of  122  in  favor  and  11 
against  itr-* 

"Whereas,  Great  excitement  has  prevailed  in  this  country  on 
the  subject  of  modern  abolitionism,  which  is  reported  to  have  been 
increased  in  this  city  recently  by  the  unjustifiable  conduct  of  two 
members  of  the  General  Conference,  in  lecturing  upon  and  in  favor 
of  that  agitating  subject;  and  C^J/fe  y^n  ■ 

"Whereas,  Such  a  course  on  tne  part  of  any  of  its  members 
is  calculated  to  bring  upon  this  body  the  suspicions  and  distrust 
of  the  community,  and  misrepresent  its  sentiments  in  regard  to  the 
point  at  issue;  and^ic 

"Whereas,  In  this  aspect  of  the  case  a  due  regard  for  its  own 
character  as  well  as  a  just  concern  for  the  interests  of  the  Church 
confided  to  its  care,  demand  a  full,  decided,  and  unequivocal  ex- 
pression of  the  views  of  the  General  Conference  in  the  premises; 
therefore, 

"Resolved,  1.  That  the  delegates  of  the  annual  conferences  ha 
General  Conference  assembled  disapprove  in  the  most  unqualified 
sense  the  conduct  of  two  members  of  the  General  Conference,  who 
are  reported  to  have  lectured  in  this  city  recently  upon  and  in  favor 
of  modern  abolitionism. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  they  are  decidedly  opposed  to  modern  abo- 
litionism, and  wholly  disclaim  any  right,  wish,  or  intention  to 
interfere  in  the  civil  and  political  relation  between  master  and 
slave  as  it  exists  in  the  slaveholding  states  of  this  Union.  ULs, 

"Resolved,  3.  That  the  foregoing  preamble  and  resolutions  be 
published  in  our  periodicals." 

No  doubt  the  abolitionists  of  that  day  were  exasperating 
and  bitter  in -their  denunciations,  and  delighted  in  agitation; 
but  those  who  opposed  their  methods  were  not  all  lovers  of 
slavery.  Both  the  North  and  South,  in  their  mutual  antag- 
onism, forgot  the  Divine  maxim,  "He  that  believeth  shall  not 
make  haste."  The  cause  for  which  the  abolitionists  contended, 
the  cessation  of  slavery,  finally  prevailed*-  The  sentiments  of 
the  Church  as  well  as  of  the  nation  secured  its  final  overthrow; 
and  it  is  pleasing  to  know  that  the  foregoing  preamble  and 
resolutions  were  rescinded  by  the  General  Conference  of  1868, 
and  ordered  to  be  expunged  from  the  Journal.  ^ 


110 


The  General  Conference. 


[183G. 


But  to  show  how  the  slavery  interests  had  debauched  the 
public  conscience,  when  a  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare 
a  Pastoral  Address  to  the  members  of  the  Church,  it  was  moved 
by  Mr.  Eoszel  and  Samuel  Luckey  that  the  committee  be  in- 
structed to  incorporate  in  it  a  section  against  abolitionism. 
Orange  Scott  moved  as  an  amendment  that  a  paragraph  on 
slavery  be  also  included;  whereupon  Mr.  Eoszel  withdrew  his 
motion.  It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  the  suggestion  made 
by  Mr.  Eoszel  was  acted  upon,  notwithstanding  his  motion  was 
withdrawn.    The  Pastoral  Address  as  adopted  says: 

"It  is  not  unknown  to  you,  dear  brethren  and  friends,  that 
in  common  with  other  denominations  in  our  land,  as  well  as  our 
citizens  generally,  we  have  been  much  agitated  in  some  portions 
of  our  work  with  the  very  excitable  subject  of  what  is  called 
abolitionism.  This  subject  has  been  brought  before  us  at  the 
present  session— fully,  and  we  humbly  trust,  impartially  discussed, 
and  by  almost  a  unanimous  vote  highly  disapproved  of;  and  while 
we  would  tenderly  sympathize  with  those  of  our  brethren  who  have, 
as  we  believe,  been  led  astray  by  this  exciting  topic,  we  feel  it 
our  imperative  duty  to  express  our  decided  disapprobation  of  the 
measures  they  have  pursued  to  accomplish  their  object.  It  can  not 
be  unknown  to  you  that  the  question  of  slavery  in  these  United 
States,  by  the  constitutional  compact  which  binds  us  together  as 
a  nation,  is  left  to  be  regulated  by  the  several  state  legislatures 
themselves;  and  thereby  is  put  beyond  the  control  of  the  general 
government,  as  well  as  that  of  all  ecclesiastical  bodies;  it  being 
manifest  that  in  the  slaveholding  states  themselves,  the  entire 
responsibility  of  its  existence  or  non-existence  rests  with  those  state 
legislatures.  And  such  is  the  aspect  of  affairs  in  reference  to  this 
question,  that  whatever  else  might  tend  to  meliorate  the  condition 
of  the  slave,  it  is  evident  to  us,  from  what  we  have  witnessed  of 
abolition  movements,  that  these  are  the  least  likely  to  do  him 
good.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  it  in  the  evidence  before  us,  that 
their  inflammatory  speeches  and  writings  and  movements  have 
tended,  in  many  instances,  injuriously  to  affect  his  temporal  and 
spiritual  condition,  by  hedging  up  the  way' of  the  missionary  who 
^  is  sent  to  preach  to  him  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  and  by  making 
a  more  rigid  supervision  necessary  on  the  part  of  his  overseer, 
thereby  abridging  his  civil  and  religious  privileges. 

"These  facts,  which  are  only  mentioned  here  as  a  reason  for 
the  friendly  admonition  which  we  wish  to  give  you,  constrain  us, 
as  your  pastors,  who  are  called  to  watch  over  your  souls  as  they 
who  must  give  an  account,  to  exhort  you  to  abstain  from  all  abo- 
lition movements  and  associations,  and  to  refrain  from  patronizing 


1836.] 


The  General  Conference. 


117 


any  of  their  publications,  and  especially  those  of  that  inflammatory 
character  which  denounce  in  unmeasured  terms  those  of  their 
brethren  who  take  the  liberty  to  dissent  from  them.  Those  of  you 
who  may  have  honest  scruples  as  to  the  lawfulness  of  slavery, 
considered  as  an  abstract  principle  of  moral  right  and  wrong,  if 
you  must  speak  your  sentiments,  would  do  much  better  to  express 
yourselves  in  those  terms  of  respect  and  affection  which  evince  a 
sincere  sympathy  for  those  of  your  brethren  who  are  necessarily, 
and  in  some  instances  reluctantly  associated  with  slavery  in  the 
states  where  it  exists,  than  to  indulge  in  harsh  censures  and  de- 
nunciations, and  in  those  fruitless  efforts,  which,  instead  of  lighten- 
ing the  burden  of  the  slave,  only  tend  to  make  his  condition  the 
more  irksome  and  distressing. 

"From  every  view  of  the  subject  which  we  have  been  able 
to  take,  and  from  the  most  calm  and  dispassionate  survey  of  the 
whole  ground,  we  have  come  to  the  solemn  conviction  that  the  only 
safe,  scriptural,  and  prudent  way  for  us,  both  as  ministers  and 
people,  to  take,  is  wholly  to  refrain  from  the  agitating  subject 
which  is  now  convulsing  the  country,  and  consequently  the  Church, 
from  end  to  end,  by  calling  forth  inflammatory  speeches,  papers, 
and  pamphlets.  While  we  cheerfully  accord  to  such  all  the  sin- 
cerity they  ask  for  their  belief  and  motives,  we  can  not  but  dis- 
approve of  their  measures,  as  alike  destructive  to  the  peace  of  the 
Church,  and  to  the  happiness  of  the  slave  himself." 

As  a  protest  against  the  action  of  the  General  Conference 
on  the  subject  of  abolitionism,  and  their  non-action  on  slavery, 
Orange  Scott  wrote  and  had  printed  in  pamphlet  form  an  "Ad- 
dress to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  by  a  Member  of  that  Body/'  and  had  it  distributed 
on  the  seats  of  the  delegates.  Upon  reading  this  Address, 
William  Winans  and  Jonathan  Stamper  offered  the  following 
resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  a  pamphlet  circulated  among  the  members  of 
this  General  Conference,  purporting  to  be  an  'Address  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by  a  Member 
of  that  Body,'  containing  reports  of  the  discussion  on  modern 
abolitionism,  palpably  false,  and  calculated  to  make  an  impression 
to  the  injury  of  the  character  of  some  of  the  members  engaged 
in  the  aforesaid  discussion,  is  an  outrage  on  the  dignity  of  this 
body,  and  merits  unqualified  reprehension." 

Mr.  Scott  avowed  himself  to  be  the  author  of  the  pamphlet 
in  question,  and  as  he  considered  himself  under  obligation  to 
defend  his  course,  he  requested  a  copy  of  the  above  resolution; 


118 


The  General  Conference. 


[183G. 


which  request  was  on  motion  granted.  The  next  day  he  spoke 
on  the  resolution  at  considerable  length,  and  was  replied  to 
by  Mr.  Winans.  On  taking  the  vote,  it  was  carried  by  97  in 
favor  to  19  in  opposition.  The  resolution  was  ordered  to  be 
published  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal  and  the 
Western  Christian  Advocate. 

Two  of  the  bishops  having  died,  and  the  health  of  Bishops 
Roberts,  Soule  and  Hedding  being  impaired,  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy  recommended  the  election  of  three  additional 
bishops.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  Tuesday,  May  24th,  was 
fixed  on  as  the  date  of  the  election.  On  the  first  ballot,  Wilbur 
Pisk  and  Beverly  Waugh  were  elected,  and  on  the  sixth  ballot 
Thomas  A.  Morris  was  chosen.  The  several  ballots  are  here 
given  from  private  sources  of  information,  as  they  are  not  to 
be  found  in  the  Journal,  which  contains  only  the  results: 

FIRST  BALLOT  FOR  BISHOPS. 

Beverly  Waugh   85  George  Peck    35 

Wilbur  Fisk   78  Nathan  Bangs   26 

Thomas  A.  Morris   76  John  Davis   23 

William  Capers   47  John  Early   12 

Ma,rtin  Ruter..   54  William  Winans   7 

whole  number  of  votes,  153;  necessary  to  a  choice,  77.  So  the 
first  two  named  were  elected. 

For  the  third  bishop  the  ballots  were  as  follows: 

2d  Ballot.  3d.  4th.  5th.  6th. 

Thomas  A.  Morris                    57  59  62  75  86 

Martin  Buter                          38  47  50  40  29 

^William  Capers                       34  35  34  35  30 

Nathan  Bangs                           12  7  2 


9  9 


Whole  number  of  votes  141       148      148      152  147 

Necessary  to  elect   71        75        75        77  74 

When  the  result  of  the  first  ballot  was  announced,  and  it 
was  seen  that  Mr.  Morris  came  within  one  vote  of  being  elected, 
he  arose  from  his  seat  in  great  agitation,  and  begged  the  Con- 
ference to  drop  his  name  from  their  ballots.  Mr.  Winans, 
who  sat  three  or  four  seats  in  front,  sprang  to  his  feet,  turned 
round,  and  playfully  shaking  his  fingers  in  Mr.  Morris's  face, 
peremptorily  said,  "Sit  down,  Sir."  But  as  the  balloting  pro- 
ceeded, Mr.  Morris  tried  to  withdraw  from  the  ballot  more 


1836.J 


The  General  Conference. 


Ill) 


than  once,  but  his  friends  would  not  hear  to  it,  and  on  the 
sixth  ballot,  as  shown  above,  he  was  elected.  The  two  bishops 
elect,  Waugh  and  Morris,  were  ordained  to  the  office  on  Friday 
morning,  May  27th.  Wilbur  Fisk  who  was  then  in  Europe, 
upon  his  return  declined  to  accept  the  office,  and  was  not  or- 
dained. 

Thomas  Mason  was  elected  Book  Agent  in  New  York  and 
George  Lane  Assistant  Agent.  John  F.  Wright  was  elected 
by  acclamation  Book  Agent  in  Cincinnati,  and  Leroy  Sworm- 
stedt  Assistant  Agent.  Samuel  Luckey  was  elected  editor  of 
the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  the  Methodist  Quarterly 
Review,  and  books,  and  John  A.  Collins  assistant;  Charles 
Elliott  was  elected  editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate, 
and  William  Phillips  assistant.  Official  papers  were  established 
at  Charleston,  Eichmond  and  Nashville,  and  William  Capers 
was  elected  editor  for  the  first  and  Thomas  Stringfield  for  the 
last,  the  Virginia  Conference  to  elect  the  editor  for  the  paper 
in  Eichmond. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society  was  revised,  and 
Nathan  Bangs  was  elected  resident  corresponding  secretary. 
The  time  limit  was  removed  from  the  Book  Agents,  so  that 
they  might  serve  for  a  longer  period  than  eight  years,  and 
they  were  directed  both  in  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  property  belonging  to  the  Book  Con- 
cern more  firmly  to  the  General  Conference,  to  obtain  acts  of 
incorporation.  And  the  Agents  at  Cincinnati  were  authorized, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Book  Committee,  to  pur- 
chase ground  and  erect  thereon  a  suitable  building  for  a  print- 
ing-office, book  room  and  bindery. 

The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  increased  from 
twenty-two  to  twenty-eight,  and  the  ratio  of  representation  in 
the  General  Conference  was  changed  from  one  member  for  every 
fourteen  members  of  each  annual  conference  to  one  for  every 
twenty-one.  District  conferences  were  abolished,  and  their 
duties  were  assigned  to  the  quarterly  conferences. 

A  few  changes  were  introduced  in  the  Discipline,  and  it 
was  ordered  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed,  of  which 
one  of  the  bishops  should  be  chairman,  to  revise  and  edit  the 
new  edition.    The  names  of  the  committee  are  not  given. 


120 


The  General  Conference. 


[1836. 


A  communication  was  presented  from  William  Burke,  which 
was  read,  and  on  motion  of  Thomas  L.  Douglass,  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  in  order  to  facilitate  William  Burke's  reunion 
with  the  Church,  the  Ohio  Annual  Conference  are  hereby  respect- 
fully recommended,  at  their  next  session,  to  restore  the  said 
William  Burke  to  his  former  ministerial  standing  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  if  said  conference  should  think  it  expedient 
so  to  do." 

This  recommendation  of  the  General  Conference  was 
effectual,  and  Mr.  Burke  was  restored  to  his  former  standing 
and  placed  on  the  superannuated  list,  the  same  year. 

It  was  recommended  to  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Bible 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  dissolve  that 
society — which  was  eventually  done. 

The  Conference  adjourned  on  the  27th  until  the  first  day 
of  May,  1840. 


1840. 


HEN  the  General  Conference  of  1840  assembled  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  on  Friday,  May  1st,  there  were  twenty- 
eight  conferences  represented,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty 
delegates.  After  the  opening  of  the  session  by  Bishop  Hedding, 
and  its  organization  in  proper  form,  John  A.  Collins  was  elected 
secretary  and  James  B.  Houghtaling  and  Thomas  B.  Sargent 
were  chosen  assistant  secretaries.  Eobert  Newton  and  Joseph 
Sowter,  his  traveling  companion,  from  the  British  Conference; 
J oseph  Stinson,  President  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  : 
in  Upper  Canada,  and  John  Eyerson,  representative  of  the 
Canada  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  were  presented  to  the 
Conference  by  Bishop  Eoberts.  The  rules  of  order  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1836  were  then  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Nathan  Bangs  the  Conference  directed  that 
a  reporter  be  employed  for  the  purpose  of  taking  down  the 
proceedings  for  publication  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  and  the  papers  published  under  the  direction  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  was  the  first  effort  made 
to  have  a  full  report  of  the  sayings  and  doings  of  Conference 
circulated  throughout  the  Church,  and  the  pioneer  movement 
in  the  establishment  of  a  daily  paper  to  print  the  proceedings. 

Committees  were  appointed  on  the  following  subjects:  On 
Episcopacy,  Boundaries,  Itinerancy,  Book  Concern,  Education, 
Eevisal  and  Unfinished  Business,  Expenses  of  Delegates,  Tem- 
perance, Slavery,  Sunday-schools,  Centenary  Subscriptions, 
Missions,  and  Churches  and  Parsonages. 

The  bishops  presented  an  address,  which  was  read  by  Bishop 
Waugh.  The  parts  relating  to  various  Church  matters  were 
referred  to  the  appropriate  committees  already  ordered,  'and 
several  select  committees  were  appointed.  An  address  from  the 
British  Conference  was  presented  and  read  by  the  secretary, 
after  which  Eobert  Newton,  representative  from  that  body, 
addressed  the  Conference  in  a  most  effective  and  impressive 
style.  The  address  of  the  British  Conference  was  referred  to 
a  special  committee  of  three,  and  Mr.  Newton  was  requested 

121 


122 


The  General  Conference. 


[1840. 


to  furnish  a  cop}'  of  his  own  address  before  the  Conference  for 
publication.  The  Conference  also  requested  him  to  sit  for  his 
likeness  in  Baltimore  or  New  York,  the  expense  to  be  paid  by 
the  Book  Concern. 

Joseph  Stinson,  president  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Con- 
ference in  Upper  Canada  presented  the  certificate  of  the  election 
of  himself,  Egerton  Ryerson  and  John  Ryerson  as  delegates 
to  the  Conference,  and  delivered  an  appropriate  address.  John 
Ryerson  also  addressed  the  Conference,  and  copies  of  the  ad- 
dresses of  both  were  requested  for  publication.  Egerton  Ryer- 
son, who  happened  to  be  absent  at  the  time,  was  introduced 
to  the  Conference  later.  William  M.  Howard,  chairman  of  the 
Lower  Canada  District,  then  addressed  the  Conference,  after 
which  the  members  and  others  listened  to  a  sermon  preached 
by  Robert  Xewton,  a  copy  of  which  was  asked  for,  to  be  pub- 
lished at  the  Book  Concern,  Xew  York. 

Though  the  Church  had  long  before  determined  the  stand- 
ing of  the  bishops  and  the  method  of  appointing  presiding 
elders,  still  petitions  were  sent  in  to  'the  Conference,  asking  for 
a  "moderate  episcopacy/'  and  for  the  election  of  presiding 
elders  by  the  conferences  to  which  they  belong.  All  such  peti- 
tions were  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees.  Though 
the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  was  not  granted,  their  right  to 
petition  was  not,  nor  ever  has  been,  denied.  Petitions  asking 
for  lay  representation  in  the  General  Conference  were  likewise 
received  and  referred.  But  there  was  no  general  or  large  de- 
mand for  lay  representation  in  the  Church,  and  it  was  deemed 
impolitic  at  the  time  to  change  the  established  order.  Yet  as 
memorials  and  petitions  from  the  members  were  numerous,  it 
was  thought  best  to  refer  all  those  which  related  to  presiding 
elders,  lay  representation,  modification  of  the  episcopacy,  and 
kindred  subjects,  to  a  select  committee;  and  all  papers  on  these 
subjects,  already  referred  to  other  committees,  were  withdrawn, 
and  put  into  the  hands  of  the  special  committee,  consisting  of 
William  Winans,  George  Gary,  Moses  Brock,  John  T.  Mitchell 
and  William  C.  Larrabee. 

The  editor  of  the  Discipline  was  directed  to  prepare  a  more 
perfect  index  to  the  same;  and  the  Agents  were  instructed  to 
publish  a  duodecimo  edition  in  large,  clear  type  for  the  use 


1840.] 


The  General  Conference. 


L23 


of  Churches,  and  for  members  who  may  prefer  it  to  the  small 
size  pocket  edition,  and  to  sell  it  at  the  lowest  price  possible 
for  that  style  of  book. 

Daniel  Dorchester  appealed  from  the  action  of  the  New 
England  Conference  of  1839,  censuring  him  for  exceeding  the 
powers  of  his  office  as  a  presiding  elder,  and  requiring  him  to 
pursue  a  different  course  in  the  future.  After  hearing  the 
case,  the  Conference  reversed  the  action  of  the  annual  con- 
ference by  a  vote  of  117  yeas  to  17  nays. 

The  Book  Agents  were  authorized  to  sell  at  fifty  per  cent 
discount  all  their  books  to  regularly  chartered  institutions  of 
learning  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  the  certificate 
of  the  annual  conferences  in  which  such  institutions  are  located, 
and  to  send  copies  of  their  periodicals  free. 

The  Ohio  Conference  presented  a  memorial  asking  for  the 
publication  in  the  West  of  a  periodical  magazine  especially 
for  the  use  of  the  female  members  of  the  Church.  The  com- 
mittee to  which  this  memorial  was  referred  brought  in  a  report 
favoring  such  a  publication,  presenting  the  arguments  and  facts 
which  sustained  their  action,  and  concluding  with  the  follow- 
ing resolutions: 

"Resolved,  1.  That  it  is  expedient  to  establish  a  religious  peri- 
odical for  the  benefit  of  females. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  the  Book  Agents  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  be 
and  they  are  hereby  authorized  to  commence  the  publication  of 
such  a  periodical  as  soon  as  in  their  opinion  and  in  the  judgment 
of  the  Cincinnati  Book  Committee  there  will  be  sufficient  patronage 
to  sustain  it. 

'"Resolved,  3.  That  the  periodical  aforesaid  shall  be  in  pamphlet 
form,  shall  be  issued  monthly,  and  the  amount  of  matter  and  the 
subscription  price  of  each  yearly  volume  shall  not  exceed  those 
of  the  Methodist  Magazine  and  Quarterly  Review." 

The  report,  with  these  resolutions,  was  adopted.  In  ac- 
cordance with  this  action  of  the  General  Conference,  the 
Western  Book  Agents  undertook  the  publication  of  the  con- 
templated magazine,  which  they  named  the  "Ladies'  Eepository 
and  Gatherings  of  the  West."  It  commenced  with  32  pages 
imperial  8vo,  and  was  successively  enlarged  to  48,  56  and  64 
pages,  and  embellished  with  steel  engravings  and  other  illustra- 
tions.   The  first  number  was  issued  in  January,  1841,  and  the 


124  The  General  Conference.  [1840. 

magazine  was  continued  monthly  thereafter  for  3G  vears.  The 
second  part  of  the  title,  "Gatherings  of  the  Wert/'  was  soon 
dropped,  and  the  magazine  was  regarded  by  the  public  as  the 
"queen  of  the  monthlies"  and  "the  art-journal  of  America" 
on  account  of  its  engravings,  press-work  and  paper,  all  of  which 
were  unsurpassed.  It  at  one  time  attained  a  circulation  of 
nearly  40,000  copies. 

A  typographical  error  in  Article  XVIII  of  the  Articles  of 
Religion  in  the  last  edition  of  the  Discipline — the  omission  of 
the  words  "of  the  love"  after  "sign"  in  the  first  line — was 
ordered  to  be  corrected.  Orange  Scott  moved  that  the  word 
"or,"  in  the  General  Rule  on  Slavery,  should  be  substituted  for 
"and,"  as  it  originally  appeared  (in  1792)  so  that  the  rule  should 
read:  "The  buying  or  selling  of  men,  women  or  children  with 
an  intention  to  enslave  them.",  Who  made  this  alteration  in 
the  rule  is  not  known,  but  it  was  not  made  by  order  of  the 
Conference.  The  editors  of  the  Discipline,  however,  must  be 
held  responsible.  Mr.  Scott's  motion  did  not  prevail,  though 
the  error  was  apparent  and  acknowledged,  but  the  pro-slavery 
sentiment  was  dominant  both  in  Church  and  state. 

Silas  Comfort,  of  the  Missouri  Conference,  appealed  from 
the  judgment  of  that  conference  in  finding  him  guilty  of  mal- 
administration. Though  passing  his  character,  William 
Winans  moved  to  affirm  the  judgment  of  the  conference  in 
finding  him  guilty,  and  to  reverse  their  decision,  which  passed 
his  character  without  censure.  The  resolution  was  discussed 
in  a  protracted  debate,  pending  which  Mr.  Winans  withdrew 
the  latter  part  of  his  motion.  The  former  part  was  then  put 
to  vote,  and  lost.  So  the  Conference  refused  to  affirm  the 
decision  of  the  Missouri  Conference  in  the  case  of  Silas  Com- 
fort. The  maladministration  of  which  he  was  accused  was  his 
admission  of  testimony  from  a  colored  member  of  the  Church 
against  a  white  brother.  The  "black  laws,"  as  they  were  called, 
disgraced  the  statute  books  of  several  free  states,  especially 
along  the  border,  as  well. as  of  all  the  slave  states.  No  white 
man  could  be  convicted  of  a  crime  on  the  testimony  of  colored 
persons,  in  any  civil  court. 

A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  pastoral 
address  to  our  peonle  and  friends.    The  committee  consisted 


1840.] 


The  General  Conference. 


125 


of  George  Peck,  William  Capers  and  L.  L.  Hamline.  Sug- 
gested by  the  action  of  the  Conference  in  the  appeal  of  Silas 
Comfort,  it  was  on  motion  of  Ignatius  A.  F ew, 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  and  unjustifiable  for  any 
preacher  among  us  to  permit  colored  persons  to  give  testimony 
against  white  persons  in  any  state  where  they  are  denied  that 
privilege  in  trials  at  law." 

Seventy-four  voted  in  the  affirmative  and  forty-six  in  the 
negative.  Afterward  Daniel  Ostrander  moved  to  reconsider 
the  case  of  Silas  Comfort,  and  the  motion  being  carried,  he 
offered  the  following  preamble  and  resolution: 

"Whereas,  It  appears  from  the  Journal  of  the  General  Confer- 
.ence  that  no  censure  was  fixed  upon  nor  reproof  given  to  Silas 
,  Comfort  in  the  vote  of  said  conference,  but  that  he  was  simply 
found  to  have  erred  in  judgment,  and  his  character  passed  without 
censure;  therefore,  after  mature  deliberation  by  the  General  Con- 
ference, be  it 

"Resolved,  That  the  appeal  of  Silas  Comfort  be  not  entertained." 

The  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  appeal  thrown  out. 

Appeals  were  also  made  by  J.  Y.  Potts,  of  Philadelphia 
Conference,  remanded  for  new  trial;  Job  Wilson,  of  Pittsburgh, 
reversed;  James  Smith,  of  Philadelphia,  remanded;  and  Jonas 
Scott,  of  New  Hampshire,  located,  reversed. 

The  question  of  electing  a  bishop  for  Africa  was  considered, 
but  not  ordered.  The  Committee  on  the  Address  from  the 
British  Conference  made  a  report,  accompanied  with  letters  to 
that  Conference  and  the  Canada  Conference,  which  report  and 
letters  were  adopted.  It  was  recommended  in  the  report  to 
send  a  delegate  to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  in  1842, 
and  a  delegate  to  the  Canada  Conference  in  1841,  and  that 
their  expenses  be  paid  by  the  Book  Concern.  It  was  resolved 
that  Bishop  Soule  be  requested  to  attend  the  British  Con- 
ference as  delegate  in  1842,  and  that,  if  he  found  it  im- 
practicable to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  the  Conference,  the 
bishops  should  appoint  some  suitable  person  to  go  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States.  Bishop  Soule  was  authorized  to  nominate  a  suitable 
traveling  companion  for  himself,  to  be  elected  by  the  Con- 


126 


The  General  Conference. 


[1840. 


ference.  The  bishop  nominated  Thomas  B.  Sargent,  which 
nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed  by  a  rising  vote. 
Bishop  Hedding  was  requested  to  represent  the  Church  at  the 
Wesleyan  Methodist  Conference  in  Upper  Canada  in  1841,  and 
in  the  event  of  its  being  impracticable  for  him  to  attend,  it 
was  made  the  duty  of  the  bishops  to  appoint  a  suitable  person 
to  act  as  delegate  in  his  place. 

A  series  of  resolutions  offered  by  Bishop  Soule  were  adopted, 
explanatory  of  and  supplementary  to  the  action  of  the  Confer- 
ence on  the  appeal  of  Silas  Comfort.  They  were  to  the  effect 
that  "it  is  not  intended  to  express  or  imply  that  the  testimony 
of  colored  persons  against  white  persons  in  Church  trials  is 
either  expedient  or  justifiable  in  any  of  the  slaveholding  states 
or  territories  where  the  civil  laws  prohibit  such  testimony  in 
trials  at  law;"  that  the  resolution  of  Ignatius  A.  Few  is  not 
intended  "to  prohibit  such  testimony  in  any  of  the  states  or 
territories  where  it  is  the  established  usage  of  the  Church  to 
admit  it,  and  where  in  the  judgment  of  the  constitutional  judi- 
catories of  the  Church,  such  testimony  may  be  admitted  with 
safety  to  the  peace  of  society  and  the  best  interests  of  all  con- 
cerned;" and  that  no  reflection  is  intended  upon  "the  Chris- 
tian integrity  of  the  numerous  body  of  colored  members  under 
our  pastoral  care." 

The  Conference  voted  to  adopt  the  Christian  Apologist  (Der 
Christliche  Apologete),  a  German  paper  established  in  1839  by 
the  AVestern  Book  Agents,  at  Cincinnati;  to  establish  depos- 
itories at  Pittsburgh  and  at  Charleston,  S.  C;  to  accept  the 
Southwestern  Christian  Advocate  and  the  Pittsburgh  Christian 
Advocate  as  official  papers;  to  establish  the  Richmond  Christian 
Advocate,  to  enlarge  the  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  and  to 
establish  a  depository  at  Boston. 

Thomas  Mason  was  elected  Book  Agent  in  New  York,  and 
George  Lane  assistant  book  agent;  John  F.  Wright  was  elected 
Book  Agent  at  Cincinnati,  and  Leroy  Swormstedt  assistant 
book  agent.  George  Peck  was  elected  editor  of  the  Quarterly 
Review,  general  books,  and  tracts;  Thomas  E.  Bond  of  the 
Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Youth's  Magazine,  and  Sunday- 
school  books,  and  George  Coles  assistant  editor.  Charles  Elliott 
was  elected  editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate,  and  Leon- 


1840.] 


The  General  Conference. 


127 


idas  L.  Hamline,  assistant  editor,  to  take  editorial  charge  of 
the  new  magazine  for  women,  when  begun;  William  Nast  of 
the  Christian  Apologist  and  German  publications;  Charles  A. 
Davis  of  the  Southivestern  Christian  Advocate  at  Nashville; 
William  M.  Wightman  of  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate  at 
Charleston,  and  Leroy  M.  Lee  of  the  Richmond  Christian 
Advocate. 

Xathan  Bangs  was  elected  general  secretary  of  the  Mission- 
ary Society  at  New  York,  Edward  E.  Ames  general  secretary  for 
the  West,  and  William  Capers  for  the  south.  Joseph  S.  Tom- 
linson,  Henry  B.  Bascom,  Ignatius  A.  Few,  John  P.  Durbin, 
Edmund  W.  Sehon,  John  Early,  and  Nathan  Bangs  were  ap- 
pointed Commissioners  of  Education. 

John  F.  Wright,  Nathaniel  Callender,  and  William  Nast 
were  appointed  delegates  to  convey  the  Christian  salutations 
of  the  Conference  and  Church  to  the  Evangelical  Association 
at  their  General  Conference  to  meet  in  May,  1841. 

The  number  of  the  annual  conferences  was  increased  from 
twenty-nine  to  thirty-four,  and  a  few  changes  were  made  in  the 
Discipline.  The  principal  changes  were  exempting  chaplains 
to  state  prisons  and  military  posts  from  the  two  years'  limit, 
and  allowing  the  appointment  of  preachers  to  be  agents  for  .our 
literary  institutions;  the  introduction  of  a  section  on  receiving 
preachers  from  the  Wesleyan  Connection  and  from  other  de- 
nominations; giving  the  bishops  authority  to  decide  questions  of 
law  in  the  annual  conferences  (subject  to  revisal  by  the  General 
Conference),  and  to  unite  two  or  more  circuits  together,  with- 
out affecting  their  separate  financial  interests  or  the  pastoral 
duties,  recasting  the  section  on  the  instruction  of  children,  and 
recommending  the  formation  of  Sunday-schools  under  the  su- 
pervision of  the  quarterly  conferences ;  defining  more  clearly  the 
duties  of  supernumerary  preachers,  and  omitting  the  section 
on  the  sale  and  use  of  spirituous  liquors. 

The  expenses  of  the  delegates  were  $9,170.20;  the  defi- 
ciency $1,061.72,  which  was  ordered  to  be  paid  by  the  Book 
Concern. 

New  York  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1844,  and  on  the  third  day  of  June  the 
Conference  adjourned. 


1844. 


THE  General  Conference  of  18-4-i  met  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  was  composed  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  dele- 
-  gates,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  were  present  at 
the  opening  of  the  session.    All  the  bishops  were  in  attend- 
ance, and  Bishop  Soule  took  the  chair  and  opened  the  proceed- 
ings in  the  customary  manner.    Thomas  B.  Sargent  was  elected 
secretary,  and  James  B.  Houghtaling  and  Wesley  Kenney  were 
elected  assistants.    But  Mr.  Kenney  being  called  home  by  sick- 
ness in  his  family,  before  the  end  of  the  session,  Valentine 
Buck,  pastor  of  John  Street  Church,  Xew  York,  was  appointed 
in  his  place.    A  suitable  reporter  was  by  resolution  ordered  to 
be  employed,  that  he  might  prepare  for  publication  a  correct 
record  of  the  proceedings.    Bobert  A.  West  was  engaged  to  act 
Jks  official  reporter;  and  in  his^reports  he  included  the  debates 
/'which  he  took  down  in  shorthand. 

— s  The  address  of  the  bishops  was  read  by  the  senior  general 
superintendent.  Standing  committees  were  appointed  on  the 
Book  Concern,  Education,  Expenses  of  Delegates,  Temperance, 
Sunday-schools,  Bible  Cause,  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy,  Bound- 
aries, Missions,  Slavery,  and  Revisal.  Special  committees  were 
also  appointed,  as  occasion  arose,  on  Correspondence,  Publica- 
tion, The  Sabbath,  Petitions,  Memorials,  The  Church  in  Canada, 
Ministerial  Support,  Course  of  Study  for  Licentiates  in  the 
Ministry,  and  on  the  State  of  the  Church. 

The  subjects  mentioned  in  the  Bishops'  Address,  requiring 
attention,  were  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees.  The 
Book  Agents,  editors,  and  secretaries  of  Church  societies  who 
were  not  members  of  the  Conference,  and  Edmund  S.  Janes, 
secretary  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  were  invited  to  occupy 
seats  within  the  bar,  and  to  speak  on  matters  pertaining  to  the 
interests  they  represented. 

The  question  of  slavery  in  the  Church  came  up  early  for 
discussion.  Francis  A.  Harding,  of  the  Baltimore  Confer- 
ence, had  been  suspended  from  his  ministerial  functions  by 

128 


1844.] 


The  General  Conference. 


129 


reason  of  his  becoming  a  slaveholder,  and  he  appealed  from 
this  action  to  the  General  Conference.  The  delegates  from 
the  slaveholding  states  and  a  few  from  the  free  states  were 
in  favor  of  reversing  the  action  of  the  Baltimore  Conference, 
though  it  was  in  strict  accordance  with  the  Discipline;  but 
the  majority  decided  that  it  should  stand.  The  vote  on  re- 
versing the  action  was  56  affirmative  and  117  negative.  Fur- 
ther, many  petitions  and  memorials  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
were  presented,  and  were  referred  to  the  committee.  Thus  the 
lines  were  drawn  between  those  who  opposed  the  spread  of  • 
slavery  among  the  ministers  and  those  who  favored  it. 

The  appeal  of  Bradford  Frazee,  of  the  Michigan  Conference, 
located  without  his  consent,  was  heard,  and  the  action  of  the 
conference  reversed;  the  appeal  of  Luman  H.  Allen,  of  the 
Xorth  Ohio  Conference,  was  presented,  and  the  action  of  the 
conference  in  suspending  him  affirmed;  William  Houston,  of 
Baltimore,  located,  action  reversed;  J.  S.  Lent,  of  Genesee, 
located,  action  affirmed. 

Many  petitions  were  presented,  asking  for  the  rescission 
of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  General  Conference  of  1840, 
allowing  the  testimon}^  of  colored  persons  in  certain  cases  to 
be  received  against  white  members.  What  are  known  as  the 
"black  laws"  were  still  in  force  in  many  of  the  states,  and  the 
petitioners  desired  the  Church  law  to  conform  to  the  civil. 

It  was  known  that  Bishop  James  0.  Andrew  had  recently 
come  into  possession  of  two  slaves  by  inheritance,  and  he  had 
also  married  a  lady  who  owned  slaves  when  he  took  her  to  wife. 
This  connection  of  the  bishop  with  slavery  placed  him  on  the 
same  footing  with  Francis  A.  Harding,  who  had  been  suspended 
from  his  ministerial  functions  for  the  same  offense — the  hold- 
ing of  human  beings  in  bondage  in  contravention  of  the  order 
of  the  Church  as  set  forth  in  the  Discipline.  Although  he  was 
not  arraigned  before  the  Conference,  or  before  the  Committee 
on  Episcopac3r,  it  was  well  understood  that  there  would  be  a 
fierce  contest  between  the  two  great  sections  of  the  Church  over 
his  case.  In  fact,  the  issue  was  joined  before  the  Conference 
met.  The  delegates  began  in  private  to  discuss  the  great  ques- 
tion of  the  Church  and  slavery,  and  two  of  the  leading  members, 
9 


130  The  General  Conference.  [18-44. 


Stephen  Olin  and  William  Capers,  representing  the  anti-slavery 
and  slavery  sentiments,  introduced  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  from  the  North  and  three 
from  the  South  be  appointed  to  confer  with  the  bishops,  and  report 
within  two  days,  as  to  the  possibility  of  adopting  some  plan,  and 
what,  for  the  permanent  pacification  of  the  Church." 

John  A.  Collins  moved  to  amend  the  resolution  by  making 
it  read,  "That  a  committee  of  six  he  appointed;'*'  and  thus 
amended  the  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted.  The  com- 
mittee appointed  were  William  Capers,  Stephen  Olin,  William 
Winans,  John  Early,  Leonidas  L.  Hamline,  and  Phineas 
Crandall. 

John  P.  Durbin  offered  the  following  resolution,  which 
was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  to-morrow  be  observed  by  this  Conference  as  a 
day  of  fasting  and  humiliation  before  God,  and  prayer  for  his 
blessing  upon  the  committee  of  six  in  conjunction  with  the  bishops, 
on  the  present  difficulties;  and  that  the  hour  from  twelve  to  one  be 
devoted  to  religious  services  in  the  Conference." 

In  accordance  with  this  resolution  the  hour  between  twelve 
and  one  on  Wednesday,  May  15th,  was  observed  as  a  prayer- 
meeting.  Bishop  Andrew  who  was  presiding  officer  during  the 
morning  session  called  Bishop  Soule  to  the  chair  a  few  min- 
utes before  twelve  o'clock.  Bishop  Soule  gave  out  two  hymns 
which  were  sung,  and  at  his  request,  Matthew  Eichey,  repre- 
sentative of  Missionary  Committee  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  in  England,  John  Early,  Phineas  Crandall,  and  William 
Winans  led  in  prayer.  Bishop  Hedding  then  assumed  the  chair, 
and  announced  another  hymn,  after  the  singing  of  which  Will- 
iam Capers  and  Gleezen  Fillmore  offered  prayers.  Soon  after 
one  o'clock,  Bishop  Hedding  pronounced  the  benediction. 

William  Capers,  John  P.  Durbin,  Peter  Akers,  Charles  Elli- 
ott, and  Elihu  Scott  were  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare 
on  behalf  of  the  Conference  a  pastoral  address  to  the  Churches. 
William  Capers  was  excused  from  this  committee,  June  2d,  on 
his  own  request. 

The  delegates  from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in 
Canada  presented  an  address  from  their  Church,  which  was 


1844.] 


The  General  Conference. 


131 


read,  and  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Publication  to  be 
printed,  and  to  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  to  prepare  a 
reply  to  it.  The  delegates  from  Canada  were  John  Ryerson, 
Anson  Green,  and  Egerton  Ryerson,  the  first  two  of  whom,  only, 
were  present. 

The  delegation  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  of  1840 
to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Association  which 
sat  in  October,  1843,  presented  its  report  through  John  F. 
Wright.  The  report  and  correspondence  were  read,  and  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  of  Publication  to  be  printed. 

The  Committee  of  Conference  on  the  subject  of  pacification 
with  regard  to  slaveholding  in  the  ministry,  and  especially  in 
the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew,  were  not  able  to  come  to  an 
agreement  within  the  limit  assigned  them.  Bishop  Soule  re- 
quested the  delegates  from  the  Northern  Conferences  to  meet  at 
the  church  where  the  Conference  held  its  sessions,  at  three 
o'clock  P.  M.,  on  Friday,  May  17th;  and  the  delegates  from  the 
Southern  Conferences  to  assemble  in  the  lecture-room  of  the 
church,  at  the  same  hour,  to  confer  about  the  situation. 

James  J.  Boswell,  Samuel  Mead,  and  John  Rhile  were 
elected  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund,  to  fill  vacancies  in 
the  Board. 

On  Saturday,  May  18th,  Bishop  Soule  in  behalf  of  the 
Committee  of  Conference  with  the  bishops,  made  the  following 
report,  which  was  accepted,  and  the  committee  was  discharged 
from  further  service: 

"The  Committee  of  Conference  have  instructed  me  to  report, 
that,  after  a  calm  and  deliberate  investigation  of  the  subject  sub- 
mitted to  their  consideration,  they  are  unable  to  agree  upon  any 
plan  of  compromise  to  reconcile  the  views  of  the  northern  and 
southern  conferences." 

Although  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  had  not  brought  in 
any  report,  on  the  20th  day  of  May,  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew 
was  specially  referred  to  them.  John  A.  Collins  offered  the 
following  resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

"Whereas,  It  is  currently  reported  and  generally  understood 
that  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has 
become  connected  with  slavery;  and 


132 


The  General  Conference. 


[1844. 


"Whereas,  It  is  due  to  this  General  Conference  to  have  a 
proper  understanding  of  the  matter;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Episcopacy  be  instructed 
to  ascertain  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  report  the  results  of  their 
investigation  to  this  body  to-morrow  morning." 

The  bishops  were  authorized  and  requested  to  form  our 
German  missions,  where  they  deemed  it  necessary,  into  districts, 
irrespective  of  conference  boundaries,  and  to  appoint  presiding 
elders  to  said  districts;  and  it  was  provided  that  the  German 
preachers  within  these  districts  should  be  members  of  the 
conference  to  which  the  presiding  elder  belonged.  William 
Xast  was  granted  permission  to  visit  Germany,  with  a  view  to 
more  extended  usefulness  among  his  brethren  of  the  German 
nation,  many  of  whom  were  migrating  to  America. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  inquire  respecting  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Life  of  Bishop  McKendree,  to  wit:  Nathan 
Bangs,  John  P.  Durbin,  and  Charles  Elliott.  It  was  expected 
that  Bishop  Soule  would  prepare  the  biography,  and  he  had 
been  appointed  to  do  so,  but  he  informed  the  Conference  that 
since  1836  his  official  duties  had  not  allowed  him  to  do  more 
than  arrange  a  large  mass  of  papers  bequeathed  to  himself  and 
the  late  Thomas  L.  Douglass  by  Bishop  McKendree.  Upon 
Bishop  Soule's  report  to  the  Conference,  the  committee  was 
discharged. 

The  Life  of  Bishop  Asbury  had,  also,  never  been  written. 
William  Beauchamp,  to  whom  the  work  had  been  intrusted  by 
*  the  General  Conference  of  1824,  died  soon  after  his  appoint- 
ment, and  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings  had  made  but  little  progress 
in  the  undertaking  when  the  papers  that  he  had  prepared  were 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Beauchamp.  In  1828  the  General 
Conference  authorized  the  bishops  to  appoint  some  one  to 
write  the  proposed  Life,  but  nothing  had  been  done.  At 
the  present  Conference,  however,  Robert  Emory  asked  per- 
mission to  examine  all  the  Journals  of  the  General  Conference, 
with  a  view  to  preparing  a  Life  of  Bishop  Asbury.  The  permis- 
sion was  granted;  but  the  contemplated  Life  was  never  written. 

Bishop  Soule  was  requested  to  give,  at  some  suitable  time, 
an  account  of  his  visit  to  the  British  Conference,  and  to  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Continent. 


1844.]  The  General  Conference.  183 


The  delegates  from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  Can- 
ada, John  Kyerson  and  Anson  Green,  were  requested  to  ad- 
dress the  Conference,  and  to  give  some  account  of  the  Con- 
nection which  they  represented.  This  they  did;  after  which 
they  took  formal  leave.  Samuel  Luckey,  who  as  the  alternate 
of  Bishop  Hedding  had  visited  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Con- 
ference of  Canada,  made  a  brief  report  of  his  visit,  and  of  the 
religious  prosperity  and  progress  of  their  Church. 

A  committee  of  one  from  each  conference  to  be  selected  by 
the  delegates  was  ordered  to  collect  and  report  to  the  next 
General  Conference,  all  the  papers  belonging  to  this  body  in 
reference  to  the  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
to  collect  materials  for  it,  and  memoirs  of  the  bishops  and  other 
ministers,  etc. 

/  On  Wednesday,  May  21st,  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy 
brought  in  their  report  concerning  Bishop  Andrew's  connection 
with  slavery,  accompanied  with  a  communication  to  them  from 
the  bishop  himself,  showing  how  he  had  become  legally,  though 
not  willingly,  a  slaveholder.  The  report  was  laid  on  the  table 
until  the  next  day.  On  Thursday,  when  the  report  was  taken 
up,  Alfred  Griffith  and  John  Davis  offered  a  preamble,  reciting 
the  facts  concerning  the  bishop's  connection  with  slavery,  and 
concluding  with  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  James  O.  Andrew  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
affectionately  requested  to  resign  his  office  as  one  of  the  bishops  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

This  resolution  was  discussed  during  the  morning  and  after- 
noon sessions  of  Wednesday,  May  22d,  and  on  Thursday  James 
B.  Finley  and  Joseph  M.  Trimble  offered  a  substitute  for  the 
resolution,  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  The  Discipline  of  our  Church  forbids  the  doing 
anything  calculated  to  destroy  our  itinerant  general  superintend- 
ency;  and 

''Whereas,  Bishop  Andrew  has  become  connected  with  slavery 
by  marriage  and  otherwise,  and  this  act  having  drawn  after  it 
circumstances  which  in  the  estimation  of  the  General  Conference 
will  greatly  embarrass  the  exercise  of  his  office  as  an  itinerant 
superintendent,  if  not  in  some  places  entirely  prevent  it;  therefore, 


134 


T'he  General  Conference. 


[1844. 


"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that 
he  desist  from  the  exercise  of  this  office  so  long  as  this  impediment 
remains." 

The  discussion  on  this  substitute  continued  for  several 
days,  such  speakers  as  Stephen  Olin,  James  B.  Finley,  Benjamin 
M.  Drake,  Phineas  Crandall,  Henry  Slicer,  W.  D.  Cass,  George 
F.  Pierce,  A.  B.  Longstreet,  Jesse  T.  Peck,  A.  L.  P.  Green, 
William  Capers,  John  Early,  Leonidas  L.  Hamline,  Silas  Com- 
fort, William  A.  Smith,  John  A.  Collins,  William  Winans,  Peter 
Cartwright,  Jonathan  Stamper,  Samuel  Dunwody,  John  P.  Dur- 
bin,  George  Peck,  and  others  equally  well  known,  taking  part 
in  it. 

During  the  progress  of  the  debate,  Bishop  Andrew  ad- 
dressed the  Conference,  giving  a  full  account  of  his  con- 
nection with  slavery,  and  of  his  labors  in  behalf  of  the  slave 
population.  Bishop  Soule  also  addressed  the  Conference;  and 
the  bishops,  colleagues  of  Bishop  Andrew,  offered  as  a  peace 
measure  a  proposition  to  postpone  further  action  on  the  case 
until  the  ensuing  General  Conference.  They  say:  "They  can 
not  but  think  that  if  the  embarrassment  of  Bishop  Andrew 
shall  not  cease  before  that  time,  the  next  General  Conference 
representing  the  pastors,  ministers,  and  people  of  the  several 
annual  conferences,  after  all  the  facts  in  the  case  shall  have 
passed  in  review  before  them,  will  be  better  qualified  than  the 
present  General  Conference  can  be  to  adjudicate  the  case 
wisely  and  discreetly.  Until  the  cessation  of  the  embarrass- 
ment, or  the  expiration  of  the  interval  between  the  present 
and  the  ensuing  General  Conference,  the  undersigned  believe 
that  such  a  division  of  ( the  work  of  the  general  superintendency 
might  be  made,  without  any  infraction  of  the  constitutional 
principle,  as  would  fully  employ  Bishop  Andrew  in  those  sec- 
tions of  the  Church  in  which  his  presence  and  services  would 
be  welcome  and  cordial." 

The  next  day,  however,  June  1st,  Bishop  Hedding  withdrew 
his  name  from  the  paper.  He  said  he  thought  that  the  propo- 
sition of  the  bishops  would  be  adopted  without  debate;  but 
he  was  now  convinced  that  it  would  give  rise  to  much  dis- 
cussion, and  he  had  since  learned  facts  which  led  him  to  believe 
that  it  would  not  be  a  peace  measure. 


1844] 


The  General  Conference. 


L35 


It  was  already  rumored  that  the  conferences  in  the  slave- 
holding  states  would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  except  division 
of  the  Church.  For  this  they  were  prepared;  but  the  north- 
ern conferences  were  solid  for  union,  yet  were  unalterably 
opposed  to  allowing  any  of  the  bishops  to  be  in  any  manner 
implicated  with  slavery.  The  proposition  of  the  bishops  was 
laid  on  the  table  by  a  vote  of  95  yeas  to  84  nays.  It  was  then 
ordered  that  the  vote  be  taken  on  I'inley's  substitute,  and  it 
resulted  as  follows:  Yeas,  110;  Nays,  G8.  So  Bishop  Andrew 
was  virtually  suspended  from  all  episcopal  functions  so  long 
as  his  connection  with  slavery  should  exist.  / 

As  soon  as  this  vote  was  taken,  the  minority  gave  notice 
that  a  protest  would  be  presented  by  them  against  it,  at  as 
early  a  day  as  possible,  that  it  might  be  entered  on  the  J ournal 
of  the  Conference. 

On  Wednesday,  June  5th,  A.  B.  Longstreet,  in  behalf  of 
the  delegates  from  the  southern  and  southwestern  conferences, 
presented  the  following  declaration: 

"The  delegates  of  the  conferences  in  the  slaveholding  states 
take  leave  to  declare  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  tihat  the  continued  agitation  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  and  abolition  in  a  portion  of  the  Church;  the  frequent 
action  on  that  subject  in  the  General  Conference;  and  especially 
the  extra-judicial  proceedings  against  Bishop  Andrew,  which  re- 
sulted on  Saturday  last  in  the  virtual  suspension  of  him  from  his 
office  as  superintendent,  must  produce  a  state  of  things  in  the 
South  which  renders  a  continuance  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Gen- 
eral Conference  over  these  conferences  inconsistent  with  the  success 
of  the  ministry  in  the  slaveholding  states." 

This  declaration,  on  motion. of  Charles  Elliott,  was  ordered 
to  be  referred  to  a  committee  of  nine.  The  resolutions  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1840,  with  reference  to  the  admission 
of  testimony  from  colored  persons  in  Church  trials  of  white 
members  were,  on  motion,  rescinded. 

The  protest  of  the  southern  conferences  was  presented  and 
read  by  Henry  B.  Bascom  on  Thursday  morning,  June  6th, 
and  the  bishop  presiding  decided  that  it  should  be  entered 
on  the  journal.  Immediately  a  resolution  was  offered  by  Mat- 
thew Simpson,  that  Stephen  Olin,  John  P.  Durbin,  and  L.  L. 


136 


The  General  Conference. 


[1844. 


Hamline  be  a  committee  to  prepare  a  statement  of  the  facts 
connected  with  the  proceedings  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew, 
and  that  they  have  liberty  to  examine  the  protest  just  pre- 
sented by  the  southern  brethren.    The  resolution  was  adopted. 

The  committee  of  nine,  heretofore  ordered,  to  take  into 
consideration  the  declaration  of  the  southern  delegates  was 
appointed  as  follows:  Robert  Paine,  Gleezen  Fillmore,  Peter 
Akers,  Xathan  Bangs,  Thomas  Crowder,  Thomas  B.  Sargent, 
William  Winans,  Leonidas  L.  Hamline,  and  James  Porter. 

The  Conference  directed  that  the  name  of  Bishop  Andrew 
be  retained  in  the  Hymn  Book,  Discipline,  Minutes,  etc.;  that 
he  receive  his  support  as  usual;  and  that  whether  in  any,  and 
if  any,  in  what  work  he  be  employed,  be  determined  by  his 
own  decision  and  action,  in  relation  to  the  previous  action  of 
the  Conference  in  his  case. 

The  Conference  having  resolved  to  elect  two  additional 
bishops,  on  Friday,  June  7th,  Leonidas  Lent  Hamline  and 
Edmund  Storer  Janes  were  elected.  One  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  votes  were  cast,  of  which  Mr.  Hamline  received  102  and 
Mr.  Janes  99.  Both  were  ordained  to  the  episcopal  office  on 
Monday,  June  10th. 

George  Lane  and  Charles  B.  Tippett  were  elected  book 
agents  at  Xew  York,  and  Leroy  Swormstedt  and  John  T. 
Mitchell  in  Cincinnati;  George  Peck,  editor  of  the  Methodist 
Quarterly  'Review;  Thomas  E.  Bond,  editor,  and  George  Coles, 
assistant  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal;  Charles 
Elliott,  editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate;  Edward 
Thomson  of  the  Ladies'  Repository;  William  Nast  of  the 
Christliche  Apologete;  Leroy  M.  Lee  of  the  Richmond  Christian 
Advocate;  William  M.  Wightman  of  the  Southern;  John  B. 
McFerrin  of  the  Southwestern;  William  Hunter  of  the  Pitts- 
burgh; Nelson  Rounds  of  the  Northern ;  and  Daniel  P.  Kidder 
of  the  Sunday-school  Advocate  and  Sunday-school  books. 
Charles  Pitman  was  elected  Missionary  Secretary. 

The  report  of  the  special  committee  of  nine  on  the  decla- 
ration of  fifty-one  delegates  from  the  southern  conferences  was 
presented  on  Friday  afternoon,  June  7th.  and  laid  on  the  table; 
but  on  the  next  day  it  was  taken  up  and  again  read.  The  whole 
report  was  adopted,  the  several  items  being  voted  on  separately. 


1844.]  The  General  Conference.  L37 

The  vote  stood,  on  the  average,  146  for  and  10  against  its  adop- 
tion. This  report  is  known  as  the  "Plan  of  Separation,"  over 
which  there  has  been  so  much  controversy.  It  was  under  this 
plan  that  the  southern  conferences  formed  a  separate  eccle- 
siastical organization,  known  as  the  "Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South."^*^ 

The  committee  appointed  under  the  resolution  offered  by 
Matthew  Simpson  to  answer  the  protest  of  the  southern  dele- 
gates, and  to  prepare  a  statement  of  the  facts  in  the  case  of 
Bishop  Andrew,  presented  their  report  on  Monday,  June  10th. 
Stephen  Olin  had  been  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  committee 
on  account  of  illness,  and  L.  L.  Hamline  was  elected  bishop 
after  his  appointment;  accordingly  their  places  were  filled  by 
the  election  of  George  Peck  and  Charles  Elliott.  The  report 
was  by  a  vote  of  116  yeas  to  26  nays  ordered  to  be  entered  on 
the  journal,  and  printed. 

The  general  rule  on  Temperance  was  changed  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  so  as  to  read  according  to  Mr.  Wesley's  original 
rule, — "Drunkenness;  huying  or  selling  spirituous  liquors;  or 
drinking  them,  unless  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity."  This 
rule  was  changed  in  1790  by  dropping  out  the  clause  printed 
in  italics;  and  though  several  attempts  had  been  made  to 
restore  the  original  rule,  they  were  hitherto  unsuccessful. 
The  bishops  were  instructed  to  bring  the  proposed  change  to  the 
several  annual  conferences,  so  that,  as  soon  as  the  necessary 
three-fourths  majority  in  them  should  be  secured,  the  amended 
rule  might  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline.  It  may  be  well  to 
state  here  that  the  annual  conferences  almost  unanimously 
voted  for  the  change,  and  the  new  rule  was  adopted.  It  has 
remained  unchanged  ever  since,  so  that  the  Church  is,  strictly 
speaking,  a  total  abstinence  organization — "touch  not,  taste 
not,  handle  not" — both  for  ministers  and  members.  But  it 
always  was  a  temperance  society,  and  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage  subjected  the  offending  member  to  ex- 
pulsion, as  it  does  now. 

It  was  ordered  that  a  superintendent  of  missions  to  the 
colored  population  in  the  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Ala- 
bama conferences  be  appointed  by  the  bishop  presiding  in 
those  conferences.    The  cause  of  education  was  fostered,  and 


138 


The  General  Conference. 


[1844. 


the  subject  of  missions  received  special  attention.  The  con- 
stitution of  the  Missionary  Society  was  revised,  and  a  more 
efficient  and  uniform  plan  of  raising  money  for  missionary 
purposes  was  adopted.  The  American  Bible  Society  was  com- 
mended to  the  Church,  and  various  changes  were  made  in  the 
Discipline  which  George  Peck,  Xathan  Bangs,  and  Thomas  E. 
Bond  were  appointed  to  edit.  The  general  rule  and  the  section 
on  slavery  were  left  untouched. 

Pittsburgh  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next 
General  Conference,  and  a  few  minutes  after  midnight,  on 
the  morning  of  June  11th,  the  Conference  adjourned. 


1848. 


TN  1848  the  General  Conference  met  in  Pittsburgh.  The 

sessions  were  held  in  the  Liberty  Street  Church,  and  began 
May  1st. .  Bishops  Hedding,  Waugh,  Morris,  Hamline,  and 
Janes  were  present  as  presiding  officers.  Bishops  Soule  and 
Andrew  had  adhered  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  which  was  organized  at  the  Convention  of  the  Southern 
Conferences  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  May  1,  1845,  and  they  were 
no  longer  recognized  as  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  number  of  traveling  preachers  represented  was 
3,642;  of  local  preachers,  4,913;  and  of  members,  631,558 — 
a  loss  of  979  traveling  preachers,  3,174  local  preachers,  and 
539,798  members,  caused  by  the  separation  of  the  Southern 
Conferences. 

After  the  preliminary  religious  exercises,  conducted  by 
Bishop  Hedding,  S.  A.  Eoszel  and  Joseph  M.  Trimble  were 
requested  to  act  as  secretaries,  and  assist  in  organizing  the 
Conference.  Twenty-three  conferences  were  represented,  and 
one  hundred  and  thirty-four  delegates  furnished  credentials 
and  were  recognized  as  members.  Joseph  M.  Trimble  was  then 
elected  permanent  secretary,  and  Jesse  T.  Peck  and  John 
Frazer  assistants. 

Standing  committees  were  ordered  and  appointed  on  Epis- 
copacy, Itinerancy,  Boundaries,  the  Book  Concern,  Missions, 
Education,  Temperance,  Expenses  of  Delegates,  Sunday-schools 
and  Tracts,  Bible'  Cause,  and  the  State  of  the  Church.  Special 
committees  were  appointed  as  occasion  required. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the 
revision  of  the  hymn  book  now  in  use,  consisting  of  Charles 
Elliott,  Matthew  Simpson,  William  Hosmer,  James  Floy,  David 
Patten,  G.  F.  Brown,  and  Nelson  Rounds.  There  were  also 
committees  appointed  on  Revisals,  Finance,  and  the  Arrange- 
ment of  the  Discipline. 

At  this  Conference  a  daily  Advocate,  to  publish  the  pro- 
ceedings and  debates,  was  for  the  first  time  undertaken.  It 
was  not  authorized  by  the  Conference;  but  before  the  session 

139 


140 


The  General  Conference. 


[1848. 


was  to  begin  the  Publishing  Committee  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Christian  Advocate  and  the  editor,  William  Hunter,  foreseeing 
that  this  would  be  an  important  session,  decided  to  risk  the  pub- 
lication. Prospectuses  and  circulars  were  sent  out  and  widely 
scattered,  asking  for  subscriptions,  and  as  the  number  of  sub- 
scribers was  sufficient  to  justify  the  enterprise,  the  paper  was 
commenced,  and  the  first  number  issued  at  the  opening  of  the 
Conference.  It  was  entitled  The  Pittsburgh  Daily  Christian 
Advocate,  and  William  Hunter  was  the  editor.  The  precedent 
thus  set  has  been  followed  ever  since. 

The  credentials  of  M.  Richey,  J.  Ryerson  and  Anson  Green 
as  representatives  from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in 
Canada  were  presented  by  the  presiding  bishop,  May  2d,  and 
Dr.  Green  was  introduced  to  the  Conference,  and  invited  to 
occupy  a  seat  on  the  platform.  The  next  morning,  May  3d, 
James  Dixon  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  arrived  as 
a  fraternal  delegate  and  was  introduced  to  the  Conference  and 
invited  to  a  seat.  His  credentials  were  read,  and  then  on  in- 
vitation he  addressed  the  Conference.   It  was  on  motion 

"Resolved,  1.  That  the  cordial  thanks  of  this  body  be  presented 
to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dixon,  and  through  him  to  the  Conference  he  rep- 
resents, for  the  honor  conferred  on  us  in  his  presence  and  address, 
and  that  he  be  affectionately  invited  to  take  such  part  in  our  de- 
liberations as  may  be  agreeable  to  him. 

"2.  That  the  communication  from  the  British  Conference  pre- 
sented by  him  be  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  three,  with 
instructions  to  report  the  reply  of  the  Conference." 

Within  the  last  quadrennium  the  Southern  conferences  at 
the  convention  held  in  Louisville  which  organized  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  appointed  a  General  Conference  to 
be  held  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  May,  1,  1846.  Bishops  Soule  and 
Andrew  were  received  as  bishops  of  that  Church.  The  General 
Conference  was  held,  as  determined  upon,  and  appointed  Lovick 
Pierce  a  delegate  to  bear  the  Christian  salutations  of  the  new 
organization  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.  It  was  their  desire  to  maintain-  a  warm,  con- 
fiding and  brotherly  relation  with  this  body,  and  Mr.  Pierce 
sent  a  communication  to  the  bishops  and  members  of  the  Con- 
ference, announcing  his  appointment,  and  his  presence  in  Pitts- 


1848.]  The  Genferal  Conerence.  141 

burgh.  His  communication  was  referred  to  the  committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church,  which  on  May  5th  reported  the  follow- 
ing resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  tender  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pierce  all  per- 
sonal courtesies  and  invite  him  to  attend  our  sessions,  this  General 
Conference  does  not  consider  it  proper  at  present  to  enter  into  fra- 
ternal relations  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South." 

It  was  a  question  with  the  General  Conference  whether  the 
separation  of  the  Southern  conferences  was  effected  legitimately 
under  the  Plan  of  Separation,  or  whether  it  was  a  schism. 
Until  this  question  was  settled  it  was  not  thought  advisable  to 
recognize  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  fraternally, 
for  this  recognition  would  be  an  acknowledgment  of  ■  their 
legitimacy. 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  adopted,  with  the  follow- 
ing proviso  added:  "Provided,  however,  that  nothing  in  this 
resolution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  operate  as  a  bar  to  any 
proposition  from  Dr.  Pierce  or  any  other  representative  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  toward  the  settlement 
of  existing  difficulties  between  that  body  and  this."  The 
secretary  was  instructed  to  forward  to  Dr.  Pierce  an  official 
copy  of  the  action  of  this  Conference  in  relation  to  his  com- 
munication. But  the  Doctor  refused  to  accept  personal 
courtesies,  and  said  that  within  the  bar  of  the  Conference  he 
could  be  known  only  in  his  official  character.  He  then  added: 
"You  will  therefore  regard  this  communication  as  final  on  the 
part  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  She  can 
never  renew  the  offer  of  fraternal  relations  between  the  two 
great  bodies  of  Wesleyan  Methodists  in  the  United  States. 
But  the  proposition  can  be  renewed  at  any  time,  either  now  or 
hereafter,  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  And  if  ever 
made  upon  the  basis  of  the  Plan  of  Separation,  as  adopted  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1844,  the  Church,  South,  will 
cordially  entertain  the  proposition." 

Bishop  Soule  asked  for  an  official  examination  of  his  char- 
acter and  administration  between  1844  and  1846,  in  which 
latter  year  he  formally  and  publicly  announced  his  adhesion 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.    The  Conference 


142 


• 

The  General  Conference 


[1848 


by  resolution  declined  to  take  any  action  in  the  matter,  on  the 
ground  that  it  had  no  jurisdiction  over  him,  and  could  exer- 
cise no  ecclesiastical  authority  with  respect  to  him.  The 
secretary  was  directed  to  furnish  Bishop  Soule  a  copy  of  the 
resolution. 

James  Dixon,  the  representative  of  the  British  Wesleyan 
Conference,  was  requested  to  address  the  Conference  on  certain 
points  in  the  discipline  and  government  of  the  TYesleyans  in 
Great  Britain,  which  he  did  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the 
Conference.  He  was  also  cordially  requested  to  preach  before 
the  Conference  on  Wednesday  morning,  May  10th.  His  sermon 
was  listened  to  with  the  greatest  interest,  and  a  copy  of  it  was 
requested  for  publication. 

Two  commissioners  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  A.  L.  P.  Green  and  C.  B.  Parsons,  who  accompanied 
Lovick  Pierce,  presented  a  communication  in  relation  to  the 
division  of  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern.  The  communi- 
cation was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the 
Church,  which  reported  that  it  could  not  act  advisedly  on  the 
subject  of  the  communication  until  it  should  receive  the 
official  reports  of  all  the  conferences  in  relation  to  the  change 
of  the  sixth  restrictive  rule,  as  recommended  by  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference.  The  committee  also  asked  the  attention  of 
the  Conference  to  the  necessity  of  an  order  pointing  out  some 
plan  of  conference  with  the  commissioners,  either  by  appoint- 
ing a  special  committee  for  this  purpose,  which  should  report 
the  result  of  their  deliberations  to  the  General  Conference,  or 
by  authorizing  the  present  committee  to  invite  them  to  a  con- 
ference. The  latter  plan  was  adopted,  and  the  committee  was 
authorized  to  invite  the  commissioners  to  a  conference  with 
all  the  members  thereof,  or  with  a  select  number  as  a  sub- 
committee. 

All  General  Conference  officers,  and  all  traveling  preachers 
were  invited  to  seats  in  the  house,  and  all  General  Conference 
officers  were  authorized  to  speak  upon  matters  which  concern 
their  offices. 

John  P.  Durbin,  Charles  Elliott  and  Charles  Pitman  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  respond  to  the  address  of  the  British 
Conference  presented  by  Dr.  Dixon.    The  address  of  the  Wes- 


1848.] 


The  General  Conference. 


143 


leyan  Methodist  Conference  in  Canada  was  read,  and  on  motion 
was  referred  to  the  same  committee  for  a  reply. 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  furnish  the  Committee  on 
the  State  of  the  Church  any  facts  within  their  knowledge  in 
relation  to  alleged  infractions  of,  the  division  line  between 
the  Church,  South,  and  our  own.   Several  facts  were  furnished. 

The  Committee  on  the  Eevision  of  the  Hymn  Book  reported 
that  in  their  judgment  a  revision  ought  to  be  made,  and  that 
such  revision  should  be  intrusted  to  those  who  will  make 
it  with  good  taste  and  sound  judgment;  and  they  recommended 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  prepare  a  revised  edition  of 
the  standard  hymn  book;  that  when  the  revision  shall  be  made, 
the  result  shall  be  submitted  to  the  editors  and  Book  Com- 
mittee in  New  York,  and  to  the  bishops;  and  that  if  approved 
by  them,  it  shall  be  published  simultaneously  in  New  York 
and  Cincinnati.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  nominate  persons  to  whom  the  work  of  revision 
shall  be  intrusted.  The  following  persons  were  nominated  and 
elected:  David  Dailey,  Philadelphia  Conference;  J.  B.  Alverson, 
Genesee;  James  Floy,  New  York;  David  Patton,  Jr.,  Provi- 
dence; Frederick  Merrick,  Ohio;  Eobert  A.  West,  of  Brooklyn, 
and  David  Creamer,  of  Baltimore. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  brought  in  a 
report  which  was  discussed,  and  some  amendments  proposed, 
but  which  was  finally  adopted,  as  follows: 

"1.  There  exists  no  power  in  the  General  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  pass  any  act  which,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  effectuates,  authorizes,  or  sanctions  a  division  of  said 
Church. 

"2.  It  is  the  right  of  every  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  to  remain  in  said  Church,  unless  guilty  of  the  violation  of 
its  rules;  and  there  exists  no  power  in  the  ministry,  either  individ- 
ually or  collectively,  to  deprive  any  member  of  said  right. 

"3.  This  right  being  inviolably  secured  by  the  fifth  restrictive 
article  of  the  Discipline,  which  guarantees  to  members,  ministers, 
and  preachers  the  right  of  trial  and  appeal,  any  acts  of  the  Church 
otherwise  separating  them  from  said  Church,  contravene  the  con- 
stitutional rights  and  privileges  of  the  membership  and  ministry. 

"4.  The  report  of  the  select  committee  of  nine  upon  the  decla- 
ration of  the  delegates  in  the  slaveholding  states,  commonly  called 
the  Plan  of  Separation,  adopted  by  the  last  General  Conference,  of 


144 


The  General  Conference. 


L1848. 


which  the  memorialists  [whose  memorials  were  referred  to  the 
committee]  complain,  and  the  operation  of  which  separated  them 
from  connexion  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  having  been 
intended  to  secure  peace  and  harmony  in  our  southern  boundary, 
and  having  been  designed  to  be  dependent  upon  the  occurrence  of 
a  specified  necessity,  upon  the  concurrence  of  three-fourths  of  the 
members  of  the  annual  conferences,  and  upon  the  observance  of  a 
specified  boundary  by  the  distinct  ecclesiastical  connexion  sepa- 
rating from  us,  should  such  connexion  be  formed;— and  the  said 
necessity  in  the  opinion  of  this  Conference  not  having  arisen,  the 
annual  conferences  having  refused  the  necessary  concurrence,  and 
said  provisions  respecting  a  boundary  having  been  infracted  by 
the  highest  authorities  of  said  connexion;— therefore,  in  view  of 
these  facts,  as  well  as  for  the  reasons  before  specified,  there  exists 
no  obligation  on  the  part  of  this  Conference  to  observe  the  pro- 
visions of  said  Plan  respecting  a  boundary,  and  said  Plan  is  hereby 
declared  null  and  void." 

A  further  report  from  the  same  committee  was  presented 
on  May  29th,  and  was  adopted,  to  the  effect  that  the  Book 
Agents  might  submit  the  claims  of  the  southern  commissioners 
to  arbitration,  if  eminent  legal  counsel  shall  decide  that  their 
corporate  powers  will  so  warrant;  but  if  not,  then  they  might 
tender  to  said  commissioners  an  adjustment  of  their  claims 
by  a  legal  arbitration  under  the  authority  of  the  court ;  and  if 
they  find  that  they  are  not  authorized  to  tender  a  voluntary 
arbitration,  and  suit  should  be  commenced  by  the  commis- 
sioners, the  annual  conferences  shall  be  asked  to  suspend  the 
sixth  restrictive  article  of  the  Discipline,  to  authorize  the 
Book  Agents  at  ISTew  York  and  Cincinnati  to  submit  said  claim 
to  arbitration.  And  the  bishops  were  requested  to  lay  these 
resolutions  before  the  annual  conferences  for  their  concurrence. 

The  original  rule  of  Mr.  Wesley  on  Temperance  having  re- 
ceived in  the  annual  conferences  a  vote  of  two  thousand  and 
eleven  in  favor,  and  only  twenty-one  against,  it  was  by  vote 
of  the  Conference  restored  to  the  General  Eules,  as  follows: 
"Drunkenness,  buying  or  selling  spirituous  liquors,  or  drink- 
ing them  unless  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity." 

The  resolution  of  the  General  Conference  of  1840,  main- 
taining that  slaveholding  is  lo  bar  to  offices  or  orders  in  the 
ministry  and  official  membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  was  rescinded. 


1848.] 


The  General  Conference. 


145 


George  Lane  and  Levi  Scott  were  elected  book  agents  in 
New  York  and  Leroy  Swormstedt  and  John  H.  Power  in  Cin- 
cinnati. The  editors  elected  were:  Christian  Advocate  and 
Journal,  George  Peck;  Western  Christian  Advocate,  Matthew 
Simpson;  Pittsburgh,  William  Hunter;  Northern,  William 
Hosmer;  Apologete,  William  Nast;  Ladies'  Repository,  B.  P. 
Tefft;  Quarterly  Review,  John  McClintock;  and  Sunday  School 
Advocate  and  books,  Daniel  P.  Kidder.  Charles  Pitman  was 
elected  Missionary  Secretary. 

Tobias  Spicer,  John  McClintock,  George  Peck  and  Jesse  T. 
Peck  were  appointed  to  edit  the  Discipline,  with  power  to  make 
any  changes  necessary  to  harmonize  any  discrepancies  that  may. 
have  escaped  the  action  of  the  committees. 

Bishop  Hedding  was  requested  to  prepare  his  biography 
for  publication,  with  his  observations  and  opinions  in  relation 
to  Methodism;  and  also  to  prepare  and  publish  at  our  Book 
Concern  his  views  on  the  pastorship  of  the  Church  in  its 
various  grades  of  class-leaders,  preachers  in  charge,  presiding 
elders  and  bishops. 

It  was,  by  resolution,  deemed  important  that  a  history  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  last  four  years  should 
be  written  by  some  competent  person  designated  by  this  Con- 
ference; and  Charles  Elliott  was  requested  to  prepare  it.  [In 
accordance  with  this  request,  Dr.  Elliott  compiled  and  wrote  his 
"History  of  the  Great  Secession."] 

The  Course  of  Studies  for  preachers  prepared  by  the  bishops 
was  ordered  to  be  printed  as  an  appendix  to  the  Discipline. 
The  edition  for  1848  is  the  first  in  which  it  appears. 

The  Committee  on  Correspondence  reported  their  replies  to 
the  Address  of  the  British  Conference  and  to  the  Canada  Con- 
ference, and  they  were  adopted  by  the  Conference  and  ordered 
to  be  officially  authenticated  and  sent.  The  committee  ap- 
pointed to  draft  a  "Pastoral  Address  to  the  Members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  also  reported,  and  their  report 
was  adopted,  to  be  signed  by  the  bishops  on  behalf  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  and  published. 

Boston  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  on  Thursday,  June  1st,  the  Conference 

adjourned. 
10 


1852. 


r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  of  1852  met  in  Boston.  There  were 
-■-  twenty-nine  conferences  represented,,  and  one  hundred 
and  seventy-eight  delegates  were  present.  Bishop  Hedding  had 
died  during  the  quadrennium,  and  Bishop  Hamline  on  account 
of  persistent  ill  health  was  not  able  to  attend.  The  Conference 
was  organized  by  the  election  of  J.  M.  Trimble  as  secretary. 
Charles  Adams,  Benjamin  Griffen  and  W.  M.  Daily  were  elected 
assistant  secretaries. 

The  editors  of  the  Church  papers,  who  were  members  of  the 
Conference,  and  the  editor  of  Zion's  Herald  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  employ  two  reporters,  and  to  superintend  the 
official  publication  of  the  proceedings.  The  Herald  was  issued 
in  a  daily  edition  for  this  purpose,  during  the  session  of  the 
Conference.  Abel  Stevens  was  the  editor,  and  the  paper  was 
filled  largely  with  sketches  and  notes  concerning  the  leading 
characters  of  the  Conference.  Standing  Committees  were  ap- 
pointed on  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy,  Missions,  Boundaries,  Book 
Concern,  Eevisals,  Temporal  Economy,  German  Work,  Educa- 
tion, Sunday-schools  and  Tracts,  Bible  Cause,  Expenses  of 
Delegates,  Church  Suit  (against  the  Book  Concern),  Tem- 
perance. A  committee  of  five  was  also  appointed  to  prepare 
a  Pastoral  Address  in  behalf  of  the  General  Conference  to  the 
membership  of  the  Church. 

Bishop  Waugh  read  the  Address  of  the  Bishops  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  and  the  topics  named  therein  were  referred  to 
appropriate  committees.  A  special  committee  of  five  was  ap- 
pointed to  make  arrangements  for  a  memorial  service  on  oc- 
casion of  the  death  of  Bishop  Hedding,  which  occurred  on  April 
9,  1852,  and  prepare  a  suitable  record  to  be  entered  on  the 
journal  of  the  Conference.  The  brethren  at  Baltimore  haying 
proposed  to  remove  the  remains  of  Bishops  Asbury  and  Emory 
to  the  new  Cemetery  of  Mount  Olivet  near  that  city,  the  Con- 
ference by  vote  signified  its  approval  of  the  proposed  reinter- 
ment, and  directed  the  secretary  so  to  notify  them.  The  Com- 
mittee on  Arrangements  for  the  Memorial  Service  reported  that 

146 


1852.] 


The  General  Conference. 


147 


it  be  held  on  Thursday  afternoon,  May  13th,  and  that  Bishop 
Waugh  be  respectfully  invited  to  preach  a  sermon  on  that  oc- 
casion. The  committee  also  reported  an  appropriate  record 
to  be  entered  on  the  journal,  which  was  adopted. 

The  Eev.  Anson  Green,  delegate  of  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
nexion in  Canada  was  introduced  to  the  Conference,  and  his 
credentials  were  read.  The  bishops  presented  a  communication 
from  Bishop  Hamline,  tendering  his  resignation  of  the  epis- 
copal office,  which  was  read;  and  in  connection  with  it,  a  letter 
from  his  physicians.  His  parchment  of  ordination  was  also 
presented.  These  papers  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Episcopacy,  which  reported  on  May  11th.  The  report  expressed 
sincere  sympathy  with  the  bishop,  approved  of  his  episcopal 
administration,  and  resolved,  "That  the  resignation  of  Bishop 
Hamline  of  his  office  as  a  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  be,  and  the  same 
hereby  is,  accepted."  The  report  was  adopted;  and  it  was 
further,  on  motion  of  J.  A.  Collins, 

"Resolved,  That  the  bishops  be,  and  hereby  are,  respectfully 
requested  to  convey  to  Bishop  Hamline,  the  acceptance  of  his  resig- 
nation as  a  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by 
the  General  Conference,  accompanied  with  a  communication  ex- 
pressing the  profound  regret  of  this  body,  that  the  condition  of  his 
health  has,  in  his  judgment,  rendered  it  proper  for  him  to  relinquish 
his  official  position;  assuring  him  also  of  our  continued  confidence 
and  affection,  and  that  our  fervent  prayers  will  be  offered  to  the 
throne  of  grace  that  his  health  may  be  restored,  and  his  life  pro- 
longed to  the  Church." 

An  interesting  and  important  appeal  case  was  heard,  that 
of  John  S.  Inskip,  of  the  Ohio  Conference,  who  had  been  cen- 
sured by  his  conference  for  violation  of  discipline  and  con- 
tumacy. While  pastor  of  the  newly  erected  High  Street  Church 
in  Springfield,  Ohio,  Mr.  Inskip  introduced  family  sittings 
in  the  pews,  and  allowed  men  and  women  to  sit  together.  The 
old  rule  of  the  Discipline,  in  force  from  the  beginnings  of  Meth- 
odist history,  was  that  they  should  sit  apart  in  all  cases,  no  excep- 
tion being  allowed.  The  advanced  civilization  of  the  age  and  the 
conveniences  of  Church  life  were  put  to  shame  by  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  rule,  and  Mr.  Inskip  allowed  and  encouraged  it 


148 


The  General  Conference. 


L1852 


to  be  broken.  On  the  trial  of  his  appeal,  the  action  of  the  Ohio 
Conference  was  reversed.  The  effect  of  this  reversal  was  the 
rescinding  of  the  rule — thus  leaving  it  optional  with  individual 
Churches  to  allow  promiscuous  sittings,  or  to  separate  the  sexes. 
By  degrees  all  Churches  in  Methodism  adopted  free,  promis- 
cuous sittings;  nor  has  the  change  wrought  any  damage  to 
the  spiritual,  social  or  material  prosperity  of  the  several  charges. 

The  Mayor  of  Boston  and  other  citizens  having  invited  the 
General  Conference  as  a  body  to  unite  in  an  excursion  among 
the  islands  of  the  harbor,  and  to  listen  to  an  address  by  Daniel 
Webster  in  Fanueil  Hall,  the  Conference  accepted  the  invita- 
tion, and  appointed  a  committee  of  three  to  send  the  proper 
response  thereto.  X.  Bishop,  Superintendent  of  the  Public 
Schools,  and  Barnas  Sears,  of  the  Board  of  Education,  also 
extended  invitations  to  visit  the  schools,  and  the  school  office 
in  the  State  House.  This  excursion  was  made  on  the  after- 
noon of  Tuesday,  May  18th,  and  the  thanks  of  the  Conference 
were,  by  resolution,  ordered  to  be  returned  to  the  mayor  and 
the  city  authorities  of  Boston  for  their  courtesies. 

Depositories  for  the  sale  of  books  were  ordered  to  be  estab- 
lished by  the  Book  Agents  at  San  Francisco,  Auburn,  Buffalo, 
St.  Louis  and  Chicago;  and,  at  the  discretion  of  the  agents,  at 
Washington,  D.  C.  The  agents  were  instructed  to  establish 
a  weekly  official  paper  at  San  Francisco;  and  the  Conference 
resolved  to  accept  as  such  paper  the  one  entitled  The  California 
Christian  Avdocate,  already  begun  as  a  private  enterprise.  Xew 
papers  were  also  ordered  to  be  established  at  Chicago  and  at 
St.  Louis,  the  former  to  be  styled  "The  Xorth-western  Christian 
Advocate."  The  paper  and  depository  in  San  Francisco,  and 
the  depositories  at  Auburn  and  Buffalo  were  placed  under  the 
charge  of  the  agents  in  New  York,  the  others  under  that  of  the 
Book  Agents  in  Cincinnati. 

The  matter  of  the  election  of  a  missionary  bishop,  or  an 
ordaining  superintendent,  for  our  several  foreign  missions,  by 
inserting  the  necessary  proviso  in  the  Restrictive  rule  on  the 
subject  of  the  Episcopacy,  was  discussed,  but  finally  laid  on 
the  table.  It  was  resolved  to  strengthen  the  episcopacy  by  elect- 
ing four  additional  bishops,  and  the  election  was  held  on  Tues- 
day, May  25th.   On  the  first  ballot,  Levi  Scott,  Matthew  Simp- 


1852.]  The  General  Conference. 


149 


son,  Osmon  Oleander  Baker  and  Edward  Raymond  Ames  were 
elected.    Their  ordination  to  office  took  place  on  May  27th. 

The  General  Conference  officials  for  the  quadrennium  were 
elected  as  follows:  Book  Agents  in  New  York,  Thomas  Carlton 
and  Zebulon  Phillips;  Book  Agents  in  Cincinnati,  Leroy 
Swormstedt  and  Adam  Poe.  Editors:  Quarterly  Review,  John 
McClintock;  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Thomas  E.  Bond; 
Ladies'  Repository,  William  C.  Larrabee;  Western  Christian 
Advocate,  Charles  Elliott;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast; 
Northern  Christian  Advocate,  William  Hosmer;  North-western 
Christian  Advocate,  James  V.  Watson;  Pittsburgh  Christian 
Advocate,  Homer  J.  Clark;  California  Christian  Advocate,  S.- 
D.  Simonds;  Sunday-school  Advocate  and  Books,  Daniel  P. 
Kidder.   John  P.  Durbin  was  elected  Missionary  Secretary. 

The  General  Conference  directed  the  Book  Agents  in  New 
York  to  establish  a  monthly  magazine  for  popular  reading  in 
our  Church  circles,  and  Abel  Stevens  was  elected  editor.  The 
magazine  thus  ordered  was  begun  in  January,  1853,  and  was 
entitled  "The  National  Magazine." 

It  was  deemed  inexpedient  to  send  a  delegate  to  the  British 
Conference,  but  George  Gary  was  appointed  a  representative 
to  visit  the  Canada  Conference  sometime  during  the  next  four 
years.  .  A  committee  of  five,  John  McClintock,  George  Peck, 
Alfred  Griffith,  G.  Webber  and  Lucien  W.  Berry,  were  appointed 
to  draft  a  fraternal  letter  to  the  Wesleyan  Conference  in 
England. 

The  appeals  of  Ezra  Sprague,  of  the  Troy  Conference ;  J.  M. 
Pease,  of  New  York;  J.  N.  McAbee,  of  Pittsburgh;  G.  Taylor, 
of  Michigan;  D.  J.  Snow,  of  Illinois;  and  N.  K.  Peck,  of  Black 
River,  were  heard.  The  actions  of  the  conferences  in  the  case 
of  Sprague,  affirmed;  Pease,  reversed;  McAbee,  remanded  for 
new  trial;  Taylor,  affirmed;  D.  J.  Snow,  reversed;  and  N.  R. 
Peck  affirmed. 

The  Agents  of  the  Book  Concern  in  New  York  were  in- 
structed to  publish  all  the  Journals  of  the  General  Conference 
from  the  beginning,  up  to  and  including  1836.  Those  subse- 
quent to  that  date  had  already  been  printed. 

The  enterprise  of  erecting  a  Metropolitan  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Washington  City  was  sanctioned,  and  com- 


150  The  General  Conference.  [1852. 

mended  to  the  Church  at  large.  On  an  appeal  of  sundry 
preachers  of  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  it  was  decided  that  the 
censure  of  any  member  of  the  conference  for  uniting  with  a 
secret  society  is  not  authorized  by  the  Discipline,  unless  such 
society  is  known  to  be  opposed  to  or  at  variance  with  the  rules 
and  order  of  the  Church. 

Suit  having  been  brought  by  commissioners  appointed  by 
'the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  against  the  Agents  of 
the  Methodist  Book  Concern  in  New  York,  for  a  division  of 
the  property  belonging  to  it,  Judge  Nelson  of  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court  in  New  York  decided  in  favor  of  the 
plaintiffs.  It  was  a  question  whether  the  defendants  should 
appeal  to  the  Supreme  Court  in  bank,  or  settle  the  case  by 
arbitration.  The  General  Conference  of  1848  submitted  this 
question  to  the  annual  conferences,  and  the  vote  for  concur- 
rence, previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  suit,  in  twelve 
conferences  that  voted,  was  727  for  and  413  against  arbitration. 
The  present  General  Conference  did  not  rescind  the  former 
action,  and  left  it  still  standing.  It  may  be  well  to  state  here 
that  a  like  suit  against  the  Agents  of  the  Western  Methodist 
Book  Concern  was  decided  by  Judge  Humphrey  H.  Leavitt  of 
the  United  States  Circuit  Court  in  Ohio  in  favor  of  the  de- 
fendants. John  S.  Porter  and  Michael  Marlay  were  elected 
commissioners  to  act  with  the  Agents  in  New  York  and  Cin- 
cinnati in  settling  this  Church  suit. 

The  conference  boundaries  were  adjusted,  and  several  new 
conferences  were  formed — the  "Wyoming,  Cincinnati,  South- 
east Indiana,  Northwest  Indiana,  Southern  Illinois,  California, 
Arkansas,  and  North  Indiana — making  a  total  of  thirty-nine. 
The  German  work  was  distributed  among  five  annual  confer- 
ences, and  Liberia  continued  as  a  mission  conference. 

Various  new  measures  were  proposed  which  were  not 
adopted,  among  them  the  admission  of  lay  delegates  in  the 
General  and  Annual  Conferences.  Sundry  changes  were  made 
in  the  Discipline  without  affecting  its  integrity,  and  the  editors 
and  agents  in  New  York  were  appointed  by  the  Conference  to 
edit  it.  Indianapolis  was  selected  as  the  pla?ce  for  holding  the 
General  Conference  of  1856,  and  on  June  1st,  the  Conference 
adjourned. 


18S6. 


r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  this  year  assembled  in  Indianapolis. 

There  were  thirty-eight  conferences  represented,  and  two 
hundred  and  six  delegates  were  present  at  the  opening  session. 
-  Other  delegates  came  in  later.  The  whole  number  entitled  to 
seats  was  two  hundred  and  seventeen.  William  L.  Harris  was 
elected  secretary,  and  Benjamin  Griffen,  John  S.  Martin,  Jeffer- 
son Lewis,  and  James  Hill  assistant  secretaries,  Samuel  D. 
Simonds  not  serving. 

The  Western  Book  Agents  having  undertaken  the  issue  of 
a  daily  Conference  journal  entitled  the  Daily  Western  Christian 
Advocate,  the  Conference  on  motion  approved  the  proposed 
publication,  and  directed  that  one  copy  should  be  furnished 
to  each  delegate  gratuitously.  The  editor  was  Charles  Elliott, 
and  William  P.  Strickland  was  engaged  as  reporter. 

The  usual  standing  committees  were  appointed,  and  special 
committees  on  Temperance,  Bible  Cause,  Temporal  Economy, 
Expenses  of  Delegates,  Pastoral  Address,  Colored  Members,  and 
on  other  matters  as  occasion  required. 

The  sessions  of  the  Conference  were  held  in  the  State 
Capitol  by  courtesy  of  the  legislature;  and  the  Governor,  Lieu- 
tenant Governor,  and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Kepresentatives 
were  invited  to  occupy  seats  within  the  bar  of  the  Conference. 
The  editors  of  Zion's  Herald  and  the  official  Church  papers 
were  appointed  a  committee  on  printing,  and  were  instructed  to 
publish  in  pamphlet  form  for  the  use  of  the  members  the  rules 
of  order  as  adopted,  together  with  the  standing  and  other  prin- 
cipal committees,  the  names  of  the  delegates,  and  if  possible 
their  boarding-places. 

John  Hannah  and  Frederick  J.  Jobson,  representatives 
from  the  British  Conference,  were  introduced,  and  after  the 
reading  of  the  Address  from  that  Conference,  both  delivered 
addresses.  They  were  invited  to  occupy  seats  on  the  plat- 
form, and  to  express  their  opinions  or  give  their  counsel  on 
any  question  which  might  be  under  discussion,  at  their  dis- 
cretion. 

151 


152  The  General  Conference.  [1856. 


The  Address  of  the  bishops  was  read  by  Bishop  Janes,  and 
the  subjects  spoken  of  in  it  referred  to  the  appropriate  com- 
mittees. One  thousand  copies  of  the  address  were  ordered  to 
be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  and  delivered  at  the  secretary's 
table,  to  be  by  him  distributed  among  the  delegations  pro  rata. 

The  editors  of  our  Church  periodicals  and  Book  Agents, 
not  members  of  the  Conference,  and  representatives  of  the 
American  Bible  Society  were  invited  to  occupy  seats  within  the 
bar  of  the  Conference. 

John  Ryerson  and  Richard  Jones,  representatives  of  the 
TYesleyan  Conference  in  Canada,  were  introduced  to  the  Con- 
ference, and  Dr.  Ryerson  presented  the  Address  of  the  Canada 
Conference  to  this  body,  which  was  read;  after  which  both 
himself  and  Mr.  Jones  addressed  the  Conference  in  relation 
to  the  interests  of  Methodism  in  Canada. 

Robinson  Scott  and  Dr.  Gather,  of  the  Irish  Wesleyan 

Conference,  were  introduced.  Dr.  Scott  presented  an  address 
from  his  Conference  which  was  read;  after  which  the  two 
visiting  brethren  addressed  the  Conference,  and  a  cordial  greet- 
ing was  extended  to  them  and  to  William  Arthur,  not  present, 
and  the  connectional  interests  of  Irish  Methodism  commended 
to  the  Church.  Committees  were  appointed  to  respond  to  the 
several  addresses  sent  by  the  British,  Canadian,  and  Irish  Con- 
ferences; and  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Hannah  it  was  resolved  by 
the  General  Conference  that  two  representatives  be  sent  to 
the  British  Conference  of  1857,  to  bear  the  fraternal  greetings 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  Bishop  Matthew  Simpson 
and  John  McClintock  were  elected. 

A  communication  was  received  from  the  Congregational 
Union  of  England  and  Wales,  and  a  committee  of  five  was 
appointed  to  prepare  an  answer  to  it.  At  the  request  of  the 
Conference  the  two  visiting  brethren  from  England  preached 
sermons  before  the  Conference,  Dr.  Hannah  in  the  afternoon 
and  F.  J.  Jobson  at  night,  May  14th,  and  their  sermons  were 
requested  for  publication  and  ordered  to  be  printed  by  the 
Agents  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book  Concern. 

John  P.  Durbin  presented  an  address  from  the  French 
Methodist  Conference  in  France  and  Switzerland,  which  was 
read  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Missions  for  reply. 


1856.] 


TJie  General  Conference. 


153 


It  was  voted  "that  it  is  inexpedient  at  this  time  to  extend 
the  term  of  ministerial  service  beyond  the  present  assigned 
limit  of  two  years." 

The  Conference  by  resolution  expressed  their  cordial  and 
undiminished  confidence  in  the  American  Bible  Society,  and 
approved  of  the  intention  and  effort  of  the  Board  of  Managers 
to  secure  a  systematic  and  thorough  canvass  and  resupply  of 
the  whole  country;  and  recommended  to  all  our  ministers  to 
preach  at  least  once  a  year  on  the  Bible  cause.  J oseph  Holdich, 
one  of  the  financial  secretaries  of  the  Bible  Society,  being 
present,  was  invited  to  address  the  Conference  on  this  subject, 
which  he  did,  urging  the  claims  of  the  society  upon  the  ministry 
and  membership  of  the  Church. 

On  the  petition  of  Ludwig  S.  Jacoby  and  other  brethren  in 
Germany,  the  German  missionaries  in  that  country,  and  in  that 
part  of  France  and  Switzerland  where  the  German  language  is 
spoken,  were  organized  into  a  mission  annual  conference,  and 
the  bishops  were  requested  to  depute  one  of  their  number  to 
hold  the  mission  conference  in  Germany  when  it  may  be 
deemed  necessary  by  them. 

The  growing  sentiment  of  the  northern  states  against  slav- 
ery and  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the  southern  slaveholding  states 
in  their  endeavor  to  introduce  and  perpetuate  the  peculiar 
institution  in  the  territories  of  the  Union,  brought  the  question 
of  slavery  in  the  Church  prominently  before  the  General  Con- 
ference. Many  of  the  members  were  in  favor  of  excluding 
from  the  Church  all  who  were  implicated  with  slavery,  whether 
by  purchase  or  gift,  or  inheritance,  while  others  were  willing 
to  allow  private  persons  to  hold  slaves  in  the  states  where  law 
and  custom  sanctioned  it.  The  discussion  of  this  subject  occu- 
pied several  days.  The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Slavery 
was  presented  on  May  21st  by  Miner  Raymond,  proposing  a 
change  in  the  General  Rule  of  the  Discipline  on  the  subject, 
forbidding  slaveholding;  but  as  this  required  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  to  effect  it,  that  part  of  the  report  was  not  adopted. 
The  remainder  of  the  report  was  laid  on  the  table.  On  May 
22d,  John  A.  Collins  of  the  same  committee  presented  a  minor- 
ity report.  Both  the  majority  and  minority  reports  were  ordered 
to  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  in  an  edition  of  five  thousand 


154 


The  General  Conference. 


[1856. 


copies,  for  the  use  of  the  Conference,  and  for  general  distri- 
bution. A  substitute  for  the  report  was  laid  on  the  table,  and 
ordered  to  be  printed.  But  these  reports  were  not  again  acted 
on;  so  the  rule  on  slavery  was  left  unchanged,  and  the  Chapter 
on  Slavery  was  modified  by  omitting  the  paragraphs  allowing 
presiding  elders  to  hold  quarterly  conferences  for  colored 
preachers,  and  authorizing  the  bishops  to  employ  colored 
preachers  where  their  exclusive  services  are  judged  necessary. 
These  provisions  are  inserted,  however,  elsewhere  in  the  Dis- 
cipline for  1856. 

The  Book  Agents  were  directed  to  sell  to  local  preachers, 
for  their  own  use,  books  and  periodicals  at  the  same  discount 
that  they  allow  to  traveling  preachers. 

The  secretary  of  the  Conference  was  authorized  to  edit 
the  Journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  to  supervise  its  publication 
by  the  Book  Concern  at  New  York,  and  the  agents  were  directed 
to  remunerate  him  suitably  for  this  service. 

The  election  for  General  Conference  officers  resulted  as 
follows:  Book  Agents,  in  New  York,  Thomas  Carlton  and 
James  Porter;  in  Cincinnati,  Leroy  Swormstedt  and  Adam 
Poe;  Editors,  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal,  Abel  Stevens; 
Western  Christian  Advocate,  Calvin  Kingsley;  Northern,  F.  G-. 
Hibbard;  Pittsburgh,  Isaac  N.  Baird;  Northwestern,  James  V. 
Watson;  National  Magazine  and  Tracts,  James  Floy;  Quarterly 
"Review,  Daniel  D.  Whedon;  Ladies'  Repository,  Davis  W.  Clark; 
Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast;  Sunday-school  Advocate  and 
Books,  Daniel  Wise;  and  Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society, 
John  P.  Durbin. 

The  Book  Agents  were  instructed  to  publish  a  weekly  paper 
in  San  Francisco,  and  in  case  a  transfer  of  the  California  Chris- 
tian Advocate  now  published  in  that  city  can  be  obtained  on 
reasonable  terms,  they  were  authorized  to  adopt  that  paper. 

The  Book  Agents  were  directed  to  establish  papers  at  St. 
Louis  and  in  Oregon,  and  to  adopt  those  already  printed  for  the 
Church  as  private  enterprises,  under  the  titles  of  the  Central 
Christian  Advocate  and  the  Pacific  Christian  Advocate.  For 
the  former  of  these  Joseph  Brooks  was  elected  editor,  and  for 
the  latter  Thomas  H.  Pearne.  For  the  California  Christian 
Advocate,  Eleazer  Thomas  was  elected  editor. 


1856.] 


The  General  Conference. 


155 


The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  reported  that  it  was  inex- 
pedient to  recommend  any  addition  to  the  number  of  bishops. 
The  Committee  on  Lay  Delegation  reported  that  any  change 
in  our  economy  relating  to  the  constitution  of  the  Annual  and 
General  Conferences  is  inexpedient  at  the  present  time. 

The  Conference  confirmed  the  election  of  Colson  Hieskell 
and  T.  K.  Collins  as  trustees  of  the  Chartered  Fund,  and  re- 
turned a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  trustees  for  the  wisdom  and  faith- 
fulness with  which  they  have  discharged  their  duty. 

The  Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society  was  revised, 
and  provision  was  made  for  a  missionary  bishop,  to  reside  in 
the  particular  mission  field  assigned  to  him,  his  episcopal  func- 
tions being  limited  to  that  field.  As  this  action  required  a 
change  in  the  Third  Eestrictive  Eule,  the  matter  was  ordered 
to  be  referred  for  their  sanction  t6]the  several  annual  confer- 
ences. In  the  expectation  that  theJannual  conferences  would 
vote  for  this  change,  the  Liberia  conference  was  authorized  to 
select  some  suitable  member  of  that  conference,  to  be  presented 
for  ordination  as  missionary  bishop  in  this  country  during  the 
interim  of  the  General  Conferences.  This  alteration  in  the  re- 
strictive rule  being  sanctioned  by  the  annual  conferences,  in 
the  year  1858,  Francis  Burns,  a  member  of  the  Liberia  confer- 
ence elected  by  that  conference,  was  ordained  a  missionary 
bishop  for  Liberia.  This  change  of  the  restrictive  rule  was  not 
included  in  the  Discipline  until  1868. 

The  Committee  on  Expenses  of  Delegates  reported  a  de- 
ficiency of  $3,451.10  in  the  collections,  which  was  ordered  to  be 
paid  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Book  Concern.  Eeplies  to  the 
addresses  of  the  British,  Canadian,  Irish,  and  French  Confer- 
ences, and  to  the  Congregational  Union  of  England  and  Wales, 
were  read  and  adopted. 

Appeals  from  the  action  of  annual  conferences  were  heard 
and  disposed  of  as  follows:  Eli  Denniston,  New  York,  reversed; 
L.  D.  Harlan,  Cincinnati,  affirmed;  D.  J.  Snow,  Illinois,  re- 
manded; I.  N.  McAbee,  Pittsburgh,  reversed;  J.  M.  Snow, 
Wisconsin,  remanded;  Oliver  Burgess,  North  Ohio,  dismissed; 
John  Demming,  Erie,  dismissed;  Nehemiah  Stokely,  New  Jer- 
sey, reversed.  Much  time  had  always  been  consumed  in  both 
the  General  and  the  annual  conferences  in  the  hearing  of  ap- 


156  The  General  Conference.  [1856. 


peals.  The  bishops  had  heretofore  suggested  some  plan  by 
which  this  could  be  remedied,  but  no  action  had  been  taken. 
This  year,  however,  the  General  Conference  adopted  the  follow- 
ing paragraph,  which  is  embodied  in  the  Discipline: 

"The  General  Conference  may  try  appeals  from  members  of 
an  annual  conference  who  may  have  been  censured,  suspended, 
expelled,  or  located  without  their  consent,  by  a  committee  embrac- 
ing not  less  than  fifteen  of  its  members,  nor  more  than  one  member 
from  each  delegation,  who,  in  the  presence  of  a  bishop  presiding, 
and  one  or  more  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Conference  keeping  a 
faithful  record  of  all  the  proceedings  had,  shall  have  full  power  to 
hear  and  determine  the  case,  subject  to  the  rules  and  regulations 
which  govern  the  said  Conference  in  such  proceedings;  and  the 
records  made  and  the  papers  submitted  in  such  trials  shall  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Conference,  and  be  filed  and  preserved  with  the  papers 
of  that  body." 

Sundry  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline.  Baptized 
children  were  to  be  placed  under  special  guardianship  by  the 
Church;  Bible  Society  agents  were  recognized  as  in  the  regular 
work  of  the  ministry,  and  might  be  appointed  to  this  service  for 
more  than  two  years;  the  widows  and  orphans  of  deceased  bish- 
ops authorized  to  draw  their  allowance  from  the  Book  Concern 
the  same  as  the  bishops;  the  rules  respecting  band-societies 
eliminated;  preachers  might  remain  in  a  city  more  than  four 
years,  though  not  in  the  same  charge;  college  appointments 
were  recognized- as  part  of  the  regular  work  of  a  preacher;  the 
ratio  of  representation  in  the  General  Conference  fixed  at  the 
limit  of  one  delegate  for  every  forty-five  members  of  an  annual 
conference  (to  be  referred  to  the  annual  conferences,  as  being 
a  change  in  the  second  Restrictive  Rule);  the  section  on  Dress 
changed,  by  omitting  specifications  and  exhorting  the  people 
to  conform  to  the  spirit  of  the  Apostolic  precept;  the  education 
of  colored  youth  commended  to  public  favor;  and  tracts  on 
slavery  to  be  printed  by  the  Tract  Society. 

Buffalo  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next  Gen- 
eral Conference.  William  L.  Harris  was  appointed  to  edit  the 
new  edition  of  the  Discipline,  and  the  Conference  adjourned  a 
few  minutes  after  midnight  of  June  3d. 


I860. 


THE  General  Conference  met  this  year  in  St.  James  Hall 
in  the  city  of  Buffalo.  Bishops  Morris,  Janes,  Scott, 
Baker,  and  Ames  were  present  at  the  opening  session.  Bishop 
Simpson  came  in  the  next  morning,  having  been  detained  by 
sickness  in  his  family.  Two  hundred  and  six  delegates  pre- 
sented their  certificates  of  election  and  were  admitted  to  seats. 
A  few  delegates  came  in  later,  the  whole  number  entitled 
to  membership  in  the  Conference  being  two  hundred  and 
twenty-one.  William  L.  Harris  was  elected  secretary,  and  Ben- 
jamin Griffon,  William  Cox,  Edward  Cooke,  Asahel  N.  Fill- 
more, and  Jonathan  T.  Crane  were  chosen  assistant  secretaries. 

Standing  committees,  to  consist  of  one  member  from  each 
of  the  annual  conferences,  to  be  appointed  by  the  several  dele- 
gations, were  ordered  as  follows:  On.  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy, 
Boundaries,  Slavery,  Book  Concern,  Missions,  Education,  Lay 
Delegation,  Sunday-schools,  Revisals,  and  Tract  Cause.  Spe- 
cial committees  were  also  ordered,  on  Rules  of  Order,  Expenses 
of  Delegates,  Bible  Cause,  Temperance,  Temporal  Economy, 
Pastoral  Address,  New  Arrangement  of  the  Discipline,  Divorce 
and  Marriage,  Correspondence  with  Sister  Churches,  Christian 
Union,  Centenary  of  American  Methodism,  Colored  Member- 
ship, and  other  matters,  as  occasion  arose. 

During  the  preceding  quadrennium,  Bishop  Waugh  had  gone 
to  his  eternal  reward.  He  died  February  9,  1858.  In  their  epis- 
copal address  to  the  Conference,  the  bishops  mention  the  death 
of  their  late  colleague,  and  give  the  names  of  twelve  members 
of  the  last  General  Conference  who  had  also  died  in  the  Lord. 
On  motion  of  John  S.  Porter  it  was  resolved  that  the  bishops 
be  respectfully  requested  to  select  one  of  their  number  to  preach 
a  memorial  discourse,  during  the  session  of  the  Conference,  and 
also  to  prepare  an  obituary  notice  of  Bishop  Waugh,  the  latter 
to  be  entered  on  the  journal  of  the  Conference.  In  accordance 
with  this  resolution,  Bishop  Morris  delivered  the  funeral  ser- 
mon on  Friday,  May  11th,  and  the  bishops  prepared  the 
obituary  notice,  which  is  inserted  in  the  journal  for  May  15th. 

157 


158 


The  General  Conference. 


[1860. 


Bishop  Morris  was  requested  to  furnish  his  sermon  for 
publication. 

Committees  to  try  appeals  were  appointed,  consisting  of 
fifteen  members  each,  over  whom  one  of  the  bishops  was  to 
preside.  By  these  committees  the  following  appeal  cases  were 
determined:  A.  Wright,  of  Xorth  Ohio,  reversed;  G.  C.  Creevey, 
of  Xew  York  East,  reversed;  W.  H.  Sheets,  of  South  East  In- 
diana, remanded;  G.  C.  Holmes,  of  Eock  Eiver,  reversed;  C. 
W.  Batchellor,  of  Eock  Eiver,  remanded;  0.  F.  Morse,  of 
Wyoming,  remanded;  J.  W.  Wood,  of  Wisconsin,  affirmed;  A.  S. 
Wightman,  of  Black  Eiver,  affirmed,  and  P.  H.  Smith,  of  Troy, 
remanded. 

A  committee  of  seven,  consisting  of  D.  W.  Clark,  Joseph 
Holdich,  Francis  Hodgson,  F.  G.  Hibbard,  John  T.  Mitchell, 
L.  D.  Barrows  and  Edward  Cooke  were  appointed  to  consider 
and  report  on  the  amendment  of  our  Eituals  which  were  pro- 
posed by  the  Committee  on  Eevision  of  Eituals  appointed  by 
the  General  Conference  at  its  last  session, — these  amendments 
being  now  in  their  hands.  When  the  committee  made  their 
report,  it  was  on  motion  of  Henry  Slicer  recommitted  to  the 
committee,  with  instruction  to  report  at  .an  early  day  to  the 
next  General  Conference;  and  on  motion  of  A.  M.  Osbon,  the 
agents  of  the  Book  Concern  in  Yew  York  were  directed  to 
forward  to  each  member  of  the  present  and  the  succeeding 
General  Conference  a  printed  copy  of  the  Eevised  Eitual.  The 
revisions  consisted  chiefly  in  the  introduction  of  forms  for  the 
laying  of  corner-stones  of  churches,  dedicating  houses  of  wor- 
ship and  the  reception  of  probationers  into  full  membership. 
A  few  verbal  changes  were  suggested  in  the  rituals  for  ordina- 
tion and  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 

The  Committee  on  Temporal  Economy  was  instructed  to 
inquire  into  the  expediency  of  so  changing  the  Discipline  that 
the  bishops  should  be  supported  by  direct  contributions  of 
our  people,  as  are  the  other  ministers  in  the  regular  work. 
The  committee,  after  carefully  considering  the  matter,  deemed 
it,  for  the  present  at  least,  impracticable,  and  reported  that 
the  bishops  should  receive  their  support  from  the  funds  of  the 
Book  Concern,  and  were  therefore  authorized  to  draw  upon 
the  Book  Agents  for  the  amounts  allowed  them,  and  also  for 


I860.] 


The  General  Conference. 


159 


their  necessary  traveling  expenses.  But  the  motion  to  instruct 
the  committee  to  inquire  into  the  subject  led  to  a  thoughtful 
examination  of  the  method  of  supporting  the  bishops,  so  that 
a  subsequent  General  Conference,  when  it  took  up  this  matter 
anew,  was  better  prepared  to  adopt  new  methods  and  commend 
-them  to  the  Church  at  large.  The  whole  subject  of  the  support 
of  the  ministry  received  careful  attention  from  the  committee, 
and  they  reported  a  chapter  and  section  which  were  adopted, 
and  embodied  in  the  Discipline  as  a  substitute  for  much  that 
had  heretofore  been  in  it. 

The  subject  of  lay  delegation  was  brought  before  the  Con- 
ference, but  there  was  no  general  desire  expressed  on  the  part 
of  the  laity,  in  the  form  of  petitions  or  memorials;  but  the 
Conference  still  seemed  willing  to,  heed  the  wishes  of  the 
Church,  and  it  was  resolved  that  the  members  of  the  General 
Conference  approved  of  lay  representation  in  that  body,  and 
directed  the  preachers  in  charge  throughout  the  United  States 
and  the  territories  to  lay  the  matter  of  lay  representation  be- 
fore their  congregations  and  to  take  the  vote  of  the  male 
members  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  in  full  connection, 
upon  this  point.  The  form  and  manner  of  taking  this  vote 
was  to  be  by  ballot,  with  printed  or  written  tickets,  contain- 
ing only  the  words,  "For  Lay  Representation"  and  "Against 
Lay  Representation."  The  vote  was  to  be  taken  at  any  con- 
venient time  between  the  sessions  of  the  annual  conferences  of 
1861  and  1862;  and  a  vote  of  all  the  preachers  on  the  same 
subject  was  ordered  to  be  taken  at  their  conference  sessions  in 
1862.  The  preachers  were  to  report  the  result  of  the  lay  vote 
in  their  several  charges  in  1862 ;  and  they  were  also  requested 
to  present  the  summary  of  the  several  votes,  both  clerical  and 
lay,  to  the  General  Conference  at  its  next  session  in  1864. 

The  Book  Agents  in  New  York  were  authorized  to  establish 
as  early  as  possible  a  depository  of  Methodist  books  and  tracts 
in  San  Francisco,  and  to  purchase  a  lot  on  which  to  erect 
suitable  buildings  for  this  purpose.  The  action  of  the  agents 
in  discontinuing  the  publication  of  the  National  Magazine  at 
the  end  of  the  thirteenth  annual  volume,  was  approved.  The 
number  of  paying  subscribers  continued  to  decrease,  and  the 
losses  overbalanced  the  gains.    The  New  York  agents  were 


160 


The  General  Conference. 


[1860. 


directed  to  secure  an  act  of  incorporation  from  the  state,  under 
the  style  of  "The  Methodist  Book  Concern/'  or  some  similar 
appropriate  designation. 

The  Committee  on  the  Arrangement  of  the  Discipline  re- 
ported that  they  had  examined  the  new  order  of  placing  the 
various  subjects  therein  treated  of,  by  A.  1£  Osbon  of  the  New 
York  Conference,  and  recommended  that  this  order,  with  some 
revisions  made  by  the  committee,  be  observed  in  printing  the 
next  edition.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  on  motion,  Dr. 
Osbon  was  appointed  to  act  in  conjunction  with  the  editor  in 
Xew  York  in  preparing  it. 

The  vote  in  the  annual  conferences  on  changing  the  ratio 
of  representation  in  the  General  Conference  from  one  for  every 
thirty  preachers  to  one  for  every  forty-five  not  having  been 
reported,  it  was  resolved  that  the  ratio  for  the  next  General 
Conference  be  fixed  at  one  for  every  thirty.  The  bishops  were 
requested  to  make  a  report  of  the  vote,  when  ascertained,  to 
the  editor  of  the  Discipline,  so  that  the  alteration  of  the  ratio, 
if  authorized  by  the  several  conferences,  might  be  published 
in  the  next  edition  of  the  Discipline  issued  subsequently. 

The  subject  of  slavery  was  debated  at  length  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference,  and  various  resolutions  and  amend- 
ments were  offered  after  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Slavery 
was  presented.  The  change  proposed  by  the  committee  in 
the  General  Rule  on  slavery,  so  that  it  should  read,  "The  buy- 
ing, selling  or  holding  of  men,  women  or  children  with  an  in- 
tention to  enslave  them,"  was  lost,  two-thirds  not  voting  for 
it — 138  for  and  74  against.  The  chapter  on  slavery  in  the 
Discipline  was,  by  resolution,  changed  so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

y  "We  declare  that  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced  of  the 
great  evil  of  slavery.  We  believe  that  the  buying,  selling,  or 
holding  of  human  beings  as  chattels  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of  God 
and  nature,  inconsistent  with  the  Golden  Rule,  and  with  that  rule 
in  our  Discipline  which  requires  all  who  desire  to  remain  among 
us  to  'do  no  harm  and  to  avoid  evil  of  every  kind.'  We  therefore 
affectionately  admonish  all  our  preachers  and  people  to  keep  them- 
selves pure  from  this  great  evil,  and  to  seek  its  extirpation  by  all 
lawful  and  Christian  means." 

The  vote  on  the  resolution  to  make  this  change  was  155 
for  and  58  against; — 7  being  absent  or  not  voting. 


I860.] 


The  General  Conference. 


1G1 


The  Mission  Board  was  authorized  to  establish  a  theological 
institute  in  Germany,  and  the  bishops  were  instructed  to  visit 
the  missions  in  that  country.  They  were  also  authorized  to 
form  a  mission  conference  in  India. 

The  Book  Agents  were  authorized  to  issue  a  journal  for 
teachers  in  our  Sunday-schools,  and  to  publish  graduated 
lesson  books  for  classes. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  the  celebration  of  the 
centenary  of  Methodism  in  America  in  1866,  and  a  Committee 
of  Correspondence  was  appointed  on  the  matter.  A  committee 
from  among  the  German  delegates  was  appointed  to  compile 
and  edit  a  collection  of  hymns  for  the  use  of  German-speaking 
members  of  the  Church  in  this  and  in  other  countries. 

A  number  of  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline  by  the 
Committee  on  Eevisals,  and  adopted  by  the  Conference- — some 
of  them  being  of  importance.  The  number  of  annual  con- 
ferences was  increased  from  forty-seven  to  fifty-one,  these  in- 
cluding eleven  German  districts.  Nathan  Bangs,  F.  G.  Hib- 
bard  and  Francis  Hodgson  were  appointed  delegates  to  the 
Canadian  Wesleyan  Conference;  and  Gardner  Baker  and  Francis 
A.  Blades  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Canada. 

The  elections  in  the  General  Conference  resulted  as  follows: 
Book  Agents  in -New  York,  Thomas  Carlton,  James  Porter; 
in  Cincinnati,  Adam  Poe,  Luke  Hitchcock.  Missionary  Sec- 
retary, John  P.  Durbin;  Assistant  Missionary  Secretary,  W. 
L.  Harris.  Editors:  Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  Daniel  D. 
Whedon;  Ladies'  Repository,  Davis  W.  Clark;  Christian  '  Ad- 
vocate and  Journal,  Edward  Thomson;  Western  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, Calvin  Kingsley;  Northern,  Isaac  S.  Bingham;  Pitts- 
burgh, Samuel  H.  Nesbit;  Northwestern,  Thomas  M.  Eddy; 
Central,  Charles  Elliott;  California,  Eleazer  Thomas;  Pacific, 
Thomas  H.  Pearne;  Sunday-school  Advocate  and  books,  Daniel 
Wise;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nasi 

William  L.  Harris  was  appointed  editor  of  the  General 
Conference  Journal,  and  directed  to  prepare  the  copy  for  print- 
ing as  soon  as  practicable.  He  was  also  made  editor  of  the 
Discipline  in  company  with  A.  M.  Osbon  and  D.  D.  Whedon. 

The  Conference  adjourned  (without  a  legal  quorum  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  members)  on  June  2d. 
11 


1864. 


r  I  ^HE  Conference  met  in  Union  Church,  Philadelphia,  on 
Monday  morning,  May  2d.  Forty-nine  conferences  were 
represented,  and  at  the  opening  exercises  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  delegates  were  present  out  of  two  hundred  and 
sixteen.  "William  L.  Harris  was  elected  secretary  and  George 
W.  Woodruff,  Henry  Brownscombe,  Kasimir  P.  Jervis,  James 
Hill  and  Richard  W.  Keeler  were  appointed  assistant  sec- 
retaries. Standing  committees  consisting  of  one  delegate  from 
each  conference  were  ordered  and  appointed  on  Episcopacy, 
Itinerancy,  Boundaries,  Book  Concern,  Slavery,  Missions, 
Education,  Lay  Delegation,  Sunday-schools  and  Tract  Cause, 
Revisals,  German  "Work,  and  the  State  of  the  Country.  The 
Committee  of  Appeals  was  also  classed  among  the  Standing 
Committees. 

Special  Committees  on  the  Christian  Commission,  including 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  of  fifteen  members,  and  on  the 
Bible  Cause,  Temperance,  Temporal  Economy,  Pastoral  Ad- 
dress, Expenses  of  Delegates,  and  Freedmen,  of  seven  members 
each,  were  ordered  and  appointed. 

Piules  of  order  were  adopted,  and  fast-day  services  were 
ordered  to  be  held  on  Friday,  May  Gth,  which  was  set  apart 
expressly  for  this  purpose.  Granville  Moody,  D.  W.  Bartine 
and  S.  Y.  Monroe  were  appointed  to  arrange  for  these  services. 
Xo  session  of  the  Conference  was  held  on  that  day,  and  it  was 
observed  as  a  season  of  fasting  and  prayer  to  Almighty  God 
in  behalf  of  the  country  in  all  our  Churches  in  the  city,  morn- 
ing, afternoon  and  evening.  It  was  recommended  that  our 
people  generally  throughout  the  country  observe  similar  services 
on  that  day  in  their  several  places  of  worship.  The  arrange- 
ments made  by  the  committee  for  this  purpose  were  carried  out. 

The  Episcopal  Address  was  read  by  Bishop  Scott,  and 
the  various  topics  therein  referred  to  distributed  among  the 
appropriate  committees.  The  address  was  ordered  to  be  printed 
in  pamphlet  form,  and  distributed  pro  rata  among  the  delegates. 

W.  L.  Thornton,  delegate  from  the  British  Conference,  and 

162 


1864.] 


The  General  Conference. 


163 


Robinson  Scott,  delegate  from  the  Irish  Conference,  were  in- 
troduced on  Tuesday,  May  3d,  and  presented  addresses  from 
their  several  conferences,  and  Dr.  Thornton  addressed  the  Con- 
ference. A  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  reply 
to  the  address  of  the  British  Conference,  to  wit,  Edward 
Thomson,  Charles  Elliott,  Joseph  Cummings,  John  M.  Reid 
and  Isaac  N.  Baird.  On  May  4th,  Dr.  Robinson  Scott  addressed 
the  Conference,  and  the  address  of  the  Irish  Conference  was 
referred  to  the  same  committee  to  which  the  address  of  the 
British  Conference  was  referred,  to  draft  a  reply.  Both  these 
visiting  brethren  were  heartily  welcomed,  and  their  addresses 
we're  listened  to  with  deep  interest. 

The  agents  of  the  Book  Concern  were  directed  to  furnish 
to  each  of  the  bishops,  the  delegates  from  foreign  bodies,  the 
members  of  the  Conference,  and  the  Conference  reporters  one 
copy  of  the  Daily  Advocate,  gratuitously. 

A  committee  of  seven  on  the  Centenary  of  American 
Methodism  was  appointed,  consisting  of  David  Patten,  J ohn 
P.  Durbin,  Thomas  Carlton,  Adam  Poe,  Joseph  M.  Trimble, 
Jesse  T.  Peck,  and  Joseph  B.  Wakeley.  A  committee  of  seven 
was  also  appointed  to  report  a  plan  of  trusteeship  in  behalf  of 
General  Conference,  to  represent  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  by  virtue  of  fheir 
corporate  powers  secure  and  hold  all  bequests  made  to  the 
Church  for  benevolent  purposes.  The  committee  were  William 
Young,  Elijah  H.  Pilcher,  Albert  Church,  Williamson  Terrell, 
James  Lawson,  John  Miley  and  Kasimir  P.  Jervis.  The  plan 
reported  by  them  was  adopted,  and  included  in  the  Discipline 
for  1864. 

There  being  only  two  members  of  the  Committee  on  the 
Revision  of  the  Ritual  appointed  by  the  last  General  Conference 
in  the  present  Conference,  viz.,  Davis  W.  Clark  and  F.  G.  Hib- 
bard,  it  was  resolved  that  the  committee  be  increased  by  the 
addition  of  five  to  the  original  number,  and  that  when  so  en- 
larged they  give  opportunity  for  the  reception  of  such  sug- 
gestions as  may  be  made  by  members  of  this  body.  The  entire 
committee  thus  appointed  were  Davis  W.  Clark,  F.  G.  Hibbard, 
Bostwick  Hawley,  Wm.  A.  Davidson,  Charles  F.  Allen,  Daniel 
W.  Bristol  and  George  L.  Mulfinger. 


164  The  General  Conference.  [1864. 


A  committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  proceed  to  Washing- 
ton and  present  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in  a 
suitable  address,  the  assurances  of  our  Church  that  we  are 
with  him  heart  and  soul  in  the  present  struggle  for  human 
rights  and  free  institutions.  The  committee  consisted  of  Bishop 
E.  E.  Ames,  Joseph  Cummings,  George  Peck,  Charles  Elliott 
and  Granville  Moody.  In  accordance  with  this  resolution,  the 
committee  proceeded  to  Washington,  and  presented  the  ad- 
dress prepared  by  the  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Country 
and  adopted  by  the  General  Conference.  The  President  made 
a  brief  reply,  which  was  reported  to  the  Conference,  as 
follows: 

"Gentlemen,— In  response  to  your  address,  allow  me  to  attest 
the  accuracy  of  its  historical  statements,  indorse  the  sentiments 
it  expresses,  and  thank  you,  in  the  Nation's  name,  for  the  sure 
promise  it  gives.  Nobly  sustained,  as  the  Government  has  been  by 
all  the  Churches,  I  would  utter  nothing  which  might  in  the  least 
appear  invidious  against  any.  Yet,  without  this,  it  may  fairly  be 
said  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not  less  devoted  than 
the  best,  is  by  its  greater  numbers,  the  most  important  of  all.  It 
is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist  Church  sends  more  soldiers 
to  the  field,  more  nurses  to  the  hospitals,  and  more  prayers  to 
heaven  than  any.  God  bless  the  Methodist  Church,  bless  all  the 
Churches,  and  blessed  be  God  who,  in  this  great  trial,  giveth  us 
the  Churches!" 

The  Conference  advised  that  our  foreign  missions  in  Europe 
and  elsewhere  be  organized  into  Mission  Annual  Conferences, 
and  resolved  to  organize  at  once  the  missions  in  India  into  a 
mission  conference,  giving  these  mission  conferences  all  the 
rights,  powers  and  privileges  of  other  annual  conferences,  ex- 
cept that  of  sending  delegates  to  the  General  Conference,  of 
voting  on  constitutional  changes  in  the  Discipline,  and  draw- 
ing dividends  from  the  Book  Concern  and  Chartered  Fund. 
The  bishops  were  authorized  to  organize  any  other  of  our 
foreign  missions  into  mission  conferences,  subject  to  the  fore- 
going limitations,  when  in  their  judgment  it  is  desirable  and 
practicable.  And  the  Committee  on  Boundaries  was  instructed 
to  provide  for  the  organization  of  a  mission  conference  in  India. 

The  pastoral  term  was  extended  from  two  to  three  years. 
Numerous  other  suggestions  for  the  revision  and  amendment  of 


1864.] 


Tke  General  Conference. 


165 


the  Discipline  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Revisals. 
The  Committee  on  Revisal  of  the  Ritual  made  five  reports, 
covering  the  entire  ritual,  and  adding  forms  for  the  reception 
of  members  into  the  Church  after  probation,  for  laying  the 
corner-stone  of  a  church,  and  for  the  dedication  of  a  church. 
The  forms  thus  reported  were,  with  some  slight  amendments, 
adopted,  and  were  embodied  in  the  Discipline  prepared  for 
publication  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference.  The 
revised  ritual  has  continued  in  use  ever  since.  The  term  "con- 
secrate" is  used  instead  of  "ordain,"  in  the  form  of  inducting 
a  bishop  into  office. 

A  plan  for  observing  the  Centenary  of  American  Methodism  . 
in  1866  was  adopted.  It  was  resolved  that  it  be  celebrated  by 
all  our  Churches  and  people  with  devout  thanksgiving,  by 
special  religious  services  and  liberal  thank-offering,  commencing 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  October  and  continuing  through  the 
month  at  such  times  and  places  as  might  best  suit  the  con- 
venience of  the  societies.  Two  departments  of  Christian  enter- 
prise were  to  be  set  before  the  Methodist  public,  one  con- 
nectional,  central  and  monumental,  the  other  local  and  dis- 
tributive. A  committee  of  twelve  traveling  preachers  and  twelve 
laymen  were  to  determine  the  special  objects  of  these  contribu- 
tions, and  the  amounts  to  be  raised  for  each.  It  was  provided 
that  a  memorial  sermon  be  delivered  in  each  of  the  annual 
conferences  at  its  session  next  preceding  the  centennial  celebra- 
tion, and  they  were  to  appoint  an  equal  number  of  preachers 
and  laymen  to  give  advice  and  direction  for  the  appropriate 
celebration  of  the  centennial  in  our  principal  Churches. 

The  Conference  expressed  its  approval  of  lay  representa- 
tion in  that  body  whenever  it  shall  be  ascertained  that  the 
Church  desires  it,  and  declared  itself  ready  at  all  times  to  re- 
ceive petitions  and  memorials  from  the  members  on  that  sub- 
ject, and  to  consider  them  most  respectfully. 

The  Conference  increased  the  number  of  the  annual  con- 
ferences from  fifty-one  to  fifty-nine,  making  two  conferences 
for  colored  preachers  and  three  for  German-speaking  preachers 
exclusively.  It  changed  the  Boundary  lines  of  some  of  the  con- 
ferences, adding  two  in  the  West,  the  Colorado  and  Nevada, 
and  the  India  Mission  Conference. 


166 


The  General  Conference. 


[1864. 


A  committee  of  seven,  consisting  of  Edwin  E.  Griswold, 
Alpha  J.  Kynett,  Samuel  C.  Thomas,  Miner  Raymond, 
Barzillai  X.  Spahr,  David  L.  Dempsey  and  Reuben  Nelson, 
was  appointed  on  the  subject  of  Church  Extension.  The  report 
of  the  committee,  embodying  a  plan  and  form  of  constitution 
for  "The  Church  Extension  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church/'  was  adopted.  Bishop  Simpson,  Joseph  Castle  and 
David  W.  Bartine  were  appointed  a  committee  to  appoint 
officers  for  the  Society,  and  also  a  Board  of  Managers  for  the 
same.  The  seat  of  the  Society  was  fixed  at  Philadelphia,  and 
the  bishops  were  to  appoint  a  Corresponding  Secretary,  as  soon 
as  the  Board  of  Managers  should  become  incorporated. 

William  Xast,  Isaac  X.  Baird  and  Moses  Hill  were  appointed 
delegates  to  visit  the  Evangelical  Association;  Bishop  E.  S. 
Janes  and  Thomas  Bowman  delegates  to  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
ference of  Great  Britain;  George  Weber  and  Mighill  Dustin 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Canada;  and  Charles 
Elliott,  George  Peck  and  William  Xast  to  the  Wesleyan  Meth- 
odist Church  in  Canada. 

Replies  were  adopted  to  the  addresses  of  the  Irish  and 
British  Conferences,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  and  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Churches  in  Canada,  and  to  the  Xational  Local 
Preachers'  Association,  which  had  presented  a  memorial. 

The  venerable  Bishop  Morris  having  in  April,  18G4,  com- 
pleted fifty  years  of  ministerial  labor,  was  requested  to  preach 
a  semi-centennial  sermon  before  the  Conference,  which  he  did; 
after  which  the  thanks  of  the  Conference  were  returned  to  him 
for  his  discourse,  and  he  was  requested  to  furnish  a  copy  for 
publication.  His  theme  was  "The  Spirit  of  Methodism/'  and 
in  accordance  with  this  request,  the  sermon  was  published  in 
pamphlet  form  by  the  Book  Agents  in  Xew  York. 

The  growing  work  of  the  Church  and  the  extension  of  its 
borders,  besides  the  failing  strength  of  the  senior  bishop  made 
it  necessary  to  strengthen  the  episcopacy,  and  it  was  resolved 
to  elect  three  additional  bishops.  The  election  took  place  on 
Friday,  May  20th,  and  on  counting  the  votes,  it  appeared  that 
the  whole  number  was  216;  necessary  to  a  choice  109.  On  the 
first  ballot,  Davis  W.  Clark  received  124  votes,  and  Edward 
Thomson,  123,  and  were  declared  elected.    On  the  third  ballot, 


1864.]  The  General  Conference,  1(>7 


Calvin  Kingsley  received  114,  and  was  declared  duly  elected. 
The  new  bishops  were  ordained  to  the  episcopal  office  on  Tues- 
day afternoon,  May  24th. 

The  other  officers  of  the  General  Conference  were  elected 
as  follows:  Book  Agents,  New  York,  Thomas  Carlton,  James 
Porter;  Book  Agents,  Cincinnati,  Adam.Poe,  Luke  Hitchcock. 
Missionary  Secretary,  John  P.  Durbin;  1st  Assistant  Secretary, 
Wm.  L.  Harris;  2d  Assistant  Secretary,  Joseph  M.  Trimble. 
Editors:  Methodist  Quarterly  Pevieiv,  Daniel  D.  Whedon; 
Christian  Advocate,  Daniel  Curry;  Cliristliche  Apologete  and 
German  Books,  William  Nast;  Western  Christian  Advocate, 
John  M.  Eeid;  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  Thomas  M. 
Eddy;  Central  Christian  Advocate,  Benjamin  F.  Crary; 
Northern  Christian  Advocate,  Dallas  D.  Lore;  Pittsburgh 
Christian  Advocate,  Samuel  H.  Nesbit;  California  Christian 
Advocate,  Eleazer  Thomas;  Pacific  Christian  Advocate,  Henry 
C.  Benson;  Ladies'  Repository,  Isaac  W.  Wiley;  Sunday-school 
Books  and  Papers,  Daniel  Wise. 

The  Committee  on  the  German  Work  reported,  recom- 
mending the  formation  of  conferences  for  members  and 
preachers  speaking  the  German  language,  which  recommenda- 
tion was  adopted.  The  committee  appointed  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1860  to  make  a  new  collection  of  hymns,  better 
adapted  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  German  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  this  and  other  lands,  reported 
that  they  had  completed  the  work  assigned  to  them,  and  offered 
the  result  of  their  labors  for  the  approval  of  the  Conference. 
One  of  their  number,  Eev.  J.  L.  Walther,  had  never  met  with 
the  committee,  having  fallen  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh  as  chap- 
lain of  the  Fifty-ninth  Illinois  Eegiment. 

Bishop  Baker  proposed  a  new  plan  for  arranging  the  Dis- 
cipline, and  the  New  Hampshire  Conference  recommended  to 
the  General  Conference  the  adoption  of  it.  The  Committee 
on  Bevisals  having  considered  this  arrangment,  cordially  ap- 
proved of  the  same,  as  being,  in  their  judgment,  much  more 
simple,  logical  and  convenient  than  the  old.  They  therefore 
submitted  the  following  resolutions: 

"1.  Resolved,  That  the  table  of  contents  herewith  submitted 
[showing  the  arrangement  proposed]  be  printed. 


168 


The  General  Conference. 


[1864. 


"2.  Resolved,  That  Bishop  Baker  be  associated  with  the  com- 
mittee authorized  to  edit  the  new  Discipline,  in  the  execution  of 
that  work,  and  that,  they  be  instructed  to  adopt  (so  far  as  it  is 
practicable,  consistently  with  the  modifications  of  the  Discipline 
ordered  at  this  General  Conference)  the  arrangements  proposed  by 
Bishop  Baker." 

The  Conference  changed  by  a  nearly  unanimous  yote  the 
General  Rule  on  Slavery,  so  as  to  make  it  read,  "Slaveholding: 
buying  or  selling  slaves."  By  proclamation  of  President  Lin- 
coln, slavery  was  abolished  in  all  the  states  and  portions  of 
states  wherever  armed  resistance  was  made  to  the  authority 
of  the  General  Government,  ,  on  January  1,  1864.  This 
proclamation  was  warranted  by  military  necessity;  but  Con- 
gress took  np  the  matter  of  slavery  under  the  civil  law  of  the 
country,  and  submitted  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution  to 
the  several  states  of  the  Union,  which  by  a  majority  of  over 
two-thirds  decreed  the  thirteenth  amendment: 

"Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except  as  a  punish-  1 
ment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  the  United  States,  or  any  place  subject  to  their 
jurisdiction." 

Thirty-one  out  of  thirty-six  states  ratified  this  amend- 
ment; Delaware  and  Kentucky  rejected  it,  Texas  did  not  vote 
on  it,  and  Alabama  and  Mississippi  ratified  it  conditionally. 
It  was  proclaimed  as  a  part  of  the  Constitution  December  18, 
18G5;  and  thus  was  ended  the  long  contest  of  slavery  which  had 
existed  on  the  North  American  Continent  for  more  than  a 
century. 

The  General  Eule  having  been  changed  by  the  Conference, 
there  was  no  need  of  a  special  chapter  on  slavery  to  answer 
the  oft  repeated  question,  "What  shall  be  done  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  slavery?"  The  bishops  were  requested  to  submit  the 
resolution  changing  the  rule  to  the  annual  conferences;  and, 
if  the  requisite  number  of  votes  were  obtained,  to  have  in- 
serted the  new  rule  in  all  subsequent  editions  of  the  Discipline. 

The  Conference  adjourned  on  Friday  afternoon,  May  27th, 
after  a  session  of  unusual  interest  and  activity. 


1868, 


THE  fifteenth  delegated  General  Conference  assembled  in 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Chicago,  May 
1,  1868.  All  the  bishops  were  present,  except  Osmon  C.  Baker, 
who  was  detained  by  ill  health.  William  L.  Harris  was  elected 
secretary  by  acclamation.  The  Conference  was  composed  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-one  delegates,  representing  fifty-five 
annual  conferences.  Eepresentatives  from  mission  conferences 
were  also  in  attendance,  of  which  there  were  twelve,  India  be- 
ing the  only  foreign  mission.  The  subject  of  representation 
in  the  Conference  from  these  mission  conferences  was  referred 
to  a  special  committee  of  seven  members.  Their  report  pro- 
posed to  give  the  brethren  from  the  mission  conferences  in  this 
country  all  the  rights  of  delegates,  except  to  vote.  A  substitute 
was  offered,  to  recognize  these  mission  conferences,  organized 
in  the  southern  states,  and  to  admit  their  representatives  as 
delegates.  To  this  an  amendment  was  offered,  changing  the 
wording,  but  not  the  intention  of  the  substitute.  After  a  free 
discussion  of  the  subject,  it  was  moved  and  carried  that  the 
report  of  the  committee,  the  substitute,  and  the  amendment 
be  laid  on  the  table.  William  L.  Harris  then  offered  the  fol- 
lowing resolutions,  which  were  adopted: 

"Resolved,  1.  That  all  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1864, 
restricting  or  purporting  to  restrict  the  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
annual  conferences  which  the  bishops  were  authorized  by  the  said 
General  Conference  to  form  within  the  United  States  and  territories, 
be  and  the  same  is  hereby  repealed.  < 

"Resolved,  2.  That  the  following  conferences;  namely,  Alabama, 
Delaware,  Georgia,  Holston,  Mississippi,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
Texas,  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  Washington,  are  hereby 
declared  to  be  annual  conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  vested  with  all  the 
rights,  privileges,  and  immunities  usual  to  annual  conferences  of 
said  Church. 

"Resolved,  3.  That  the  provisional  delegates  to  this  body,  elected 
by  the  aforesaid  conferences  severally,  are  hereby  admitted  to 
membership  in  this  General  Conference  on  the  presentation  of  the 
required  credentials. 

169 


170 


1  he  General  Conference. 


[1868. 


"Resolved,  4.  That  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed,  to  which 
shall  be  referred  the  credentials  of  the  said  provisional  delegates, 
together  with  so  much  of  the  journals  of  the  said  conferences  as 
relates  to  their  election,  and  that  the  committee  report  at  the 
earliest  practicable  moment." 

The  committee  reported  on  May  12th.  that  the  credentials 
of  these  provisional  delegates  were  entire!}7  satisfactory;  and 
they  were,  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  five  to  nineteen,  at 
once  admitted  to  seats  as  regular  delegates.  Later  in  the  ses- 
sion of  the  Conference,  the  mission  conferences  of  Liberia, 
Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  India  were  declared  to  be  annual 
conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  and  J.  T. 
Gracey  was  admitted  to  membership  in  the  General  Conference 
as  a  delegate  from  the  India  Annual  Conference. 

Standing  committees  were  appointed,  on  Episcopacy,  Itin- 
erancy, Boundaries,  Book  Concern,  Missions,  Education,  Re- 
visals,  Sunday-schools  and  Tracts,  Lay  Representation,  Court 
of  Appeals,  Church  Extension,  State  of  the  Church,  and  Freed- 
men.  Special  committees  were  also  appointed  on  the  American 
Bible  Society,  Pastoral  Address,  Temperance,  Expenses  of 
Delegates,  Scandinavian  "Work,  State  of  the  Country,  Seaman's 
Friend  Society,  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  Rules 
of  Order,  The  Better  Organization  of  our  Local  Preachers, 
Centenary  Report,  LTse  of  Tobacco,  Trusteeship  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  Chaplaincies  in  the  Army  and  Navy,  and 
on  other  matters,  as  occasion  arose. 

Bishop  Simpson  read  the  Episcopal  Address,  and  the  Book 
Agents  were  directed  to  print  the  same  in  pamphlet  form,  and 
distribute  copies  among  the  delegations  pro  rata.  The  several 
parts  of  the  address  were  appropriately  referred  among  the 
various  committees  having  the  different  subjects  respectively 
in  charge. 

Rules  of  order  were  adopted;  George  W.  "Woodruff,  R.  H. 
Pattison,  Edmund  H.  Waring,  and  George  B.  Jocelyn  were 
elected  assistant  secretaries;  and  the  secretary  was  appointed 
editor  of  the  Journal  of  the  General  Conference. 

A  deputation  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
Canada,  consisting  of  "William  Pirritte  and  George  Abbs,  was 
introduced.    Their  credentials  accrediting  them  to  the  Con- 


1868.] 


The  General  Conference. 


171 


ference,  and  the  Address  of  the  Conference  which  they  repre- 
sented were  read.  They  then  delivered  addresses,  expressing 
their  pleasure  in  bringing  fraternal  greetings  and  in  reporting 
the  growth  and  progress  of  Methodism  in  Canada. 

William  Morley  Punshon,  of  the  British  Conference;  Eger- 
ton  Ryerson,  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  in  Canada,  and 
Matthew  Richey,  of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Church  of  Eastern 
British  America,  were  introduced  as  fraternal  delegates  from 
their  respective  conferences.  Their  credentials  were  read,  and 
the  addresses  of  their  conferences,  after  which  each  in  turn 
delivered  interesting  and  instructive  addresses.  The  secretary 
then  read  the  address  of  the  Irish  Wesleyan  Conference.  By 
invitation,  Mr.  Punshon  preached  before  the  Conference  on 
Friday  morning,  May  15th.  A  special  service  of  singing  and 
prayer  was  held,  by  resolution  of  the  Conference,  on  the  same 
morning,  to  ask  the  counsel  and  blessing  of  the  Almighty  in 
the  important  question  then  pending  in  the  United  States 
Senate  (the  impeachment  of  Andrew  Johnson). 

T.  J.  Clewell  and  R.  Dubs,  delegates  from  the  Evangelical 
Association,  were  introduced  to  the  Conference,  and  after  the 
reading  of  the  address  from  the  Association,  both  the  visiting 
brethren  addressed  the  Conference.  These  addresses  and  the 
papers  presented  by  them  were,  by  vote,  referred  to  a  special 
committee  of  five,  to  consider  the  fitness  of  a  closer  union  be- 
tween the  two  Churches. 

Bishop  Singleton  T.  Jones,  of  the  African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Zion  Church,  represented  the  General  Conference  (then 
in  session)  of  that  Church  as  a  delegate,  and  said  officially  that 
it  was  ready  to  enter  into  arrangements  by  which  to  affiliate 
on  the  basis  of  equality  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  to  become  with  it  one  and  inseparable.  A  committee  was 
appointed  on  the  proposals  of  union  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  which  reported  the  following  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  1.  That  we,  having  received  the  official  communica- 
tion of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  proposing 
union  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States, 
and  also  the  representations  of  the  Rev.  S.  T.  Jones  on  the  same 
subject,  with  great  satisfaction,  we  hereby  express  to  them  our 
Christian  regards  and  deep  interest  in  their  progress  and  pros- 
perity as  a  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


172 


The  General  Conference. 


1868.] 


"Resolved,  2.  That  this  Conference  entertains  favorably  the 
proposals  of  union  between  the  two  bodies  aforesaid. 

"Resolved,  3.  That  whereas  the  time  of  the  sessions  of  these 
two  General  Conferences  is  so  far  spent  that  it,  will  be  impracti- 
cable to  have  the  necessary  negotiations,  and  to  discuss  and  deter- 
mine the  details  of  the  terms  of  union  before  their  adjournment, 
that  eight  members  of  this  body  be  appointed,  who,  with  the 
bishops,  shall  constitute  a  commission  to  meet  and  confer  with 
a  similar  commission  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church,  and  report  to  the  next  General  Conference. 

"Resolved,  4.  That  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  action  of  this  body 
be  given  to  the  delegate,  and  by  him  be  forwarded  to  the  General 
Conference  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church." 

The  foregoing  resolutions  were  adopted,  and  it  was  ordered 
that  the  commission  to  be  appointed,  as  above,  be  empowered 
to  treat  with  a  similar  commission  from  any  other  Methodist 
Church  that  may  desire  a  like  union. 

A  committee  appointed  on  the  John  Street  Church  in  the 
city  of  Xew  York,  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  built 
in  the  United  States,  recommended  certain  persons  to  be 
elected  by  the  General  Conference  as  trustees  of  the  Church. 
This  was  done  at  the  desire  of  the  Church  itself,  the  effect 
being  that  the  trustees  can  never  alienate  or  dispose  of  that 
historical  church  without  the  consent  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence. The  intention  is  to  preserve  this  ancient  landmark  of 
Methodism  to  the  Connection. 

The  Metropolitan  Methodist  Church  in  Washington  hav- 
ing been  erected  in  accordance  with  the  action  of  the  General 
Conference  in  1852  and  185G,  in  order  to  provide  for  the  pay- 
ment of  so  costly  an  edifice,  it  was  recommended  that  a  col- 
lection be  taken  in  each  congregation  for  this  purpose,  on  In- 
dependence Sabbath,  July  5,  1868. 

The  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  organized  in  Cincinnati  in  1866,  received  the  sanction 
of  the  General  Conference,  which  approved  of  its  objects,  and 
commended  it  to  the  liberal  support  of  the  people.  The  bish- 
ops were  authorized  to  appoint  a  traveling  preacher  as  its  cor- 
responding secretary,  and  the  annual  conferences  were  directed 
to  place  it  upon  their  list  of  annual  collections.  Eichard  S. 
Rust,  who  had  been  connected  with  the  society,  was  appointed 
the  secretary. 


1868.] 


The  General  Conference. 


17a 


The  Western  Methodist  Book  Concern  was  directed  to  se- 
cure a  new  act  of  incorporation;  and  the  agents  were  authorized 
to  establish  a  magazine  for  young  people,  to  be  under  the  edi- 
torial supervision  of  the  editor  of  the  Ladies'  Repository.  This 
magazine  was  commenced  in  January,  1869,  and  called  the 
Golden  Hours.  It  contained  forty-eight  pages,  octavo,  and  was 
issued  monthly.  The  agents  were  also  authorized  to  publish 
a  German  magazine  whenever  it  could  be  done  without  loss 
to  the  Concern. 

Bishops  Morris  and  Baker  were  relieved  of  all  episcopal 
duties,  except  such  as  their  own  judgments  might  dictate  or 
their  health  allow. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
submitted  a  report  of  its  action  during  the  previous  four  years; 
and  the  Conference  directed  that  they  should  obtain  a  new 
and  amended  charter  under  the  general  law  of  Ohio,  providing 
for  the  creation  and  regulation  of  incorporated  companies. 
The  section  in  the  Discipline  relating  to  this  subject  was 
changed,  to  adapt  it  to  the  new  charter  thus  ordered. 

Proper  replies  to  the  several  Churches  that  had  sent  fra- 
ternal delegates  or  greetings  were  reported  and  adopted,  and 
visiting  delegates  were  appointed  as  follows:  To  the  British 
Conference,  Bishop  Ames  and  D.  P.  Kidder;  to  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Church  in  Canada,  J.  W.  Lindsay  and  Asbury 
Lowrey;  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Canada,  S.  C. 
Brown  and  B.  F.  Cocker;  to  the  Methodist  Conference  of  East- 
ern British  America,  J.  T.  Peck  and  G.  D.  Carrow;  and  to  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Association,  William 
Nast,  P.  Kuhl,  and  Eichard  Haney.  A  committee  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  subject  of  general  Church  union,  to  confer  with 
like  committees  from-  other  Churches. 

Bishop  Janes  addressed  the  Conference,  making  his  report 
as  the  representative  of  the  Conference  to  the  British  Confer- 
ence and  as  presiding  bishop  in  the  mission  conferences  of 
Germany  and  Switzerland;  and  Bishop  Thomson  made  a  re- 
port of  his  episcopal  visit  to  India,  China,  and  Bulgaria.  Both 
reports  were  received  with  great  satisfaction  and  delight,  and 
were  incorporated  with  the  Journal. 

The  changes  made  in  the  Discipline  since  1852  were  or- 


,    174  The  General  Conference.  1868.] 

dered  to  be  inserted  in  a  new  edition  of  Emory's  "History  of 
the  Discipline/'  and  published  also  in  pamphlet  form. 

The  printed  Journal  of  the  General  Conference,  substan- 
tially bound  and  duly  certified  by  the  secretary  to  be  correct, 
was  made  the  official  Journal.  The  resolutions  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1836,  censuring  certain  of  its  members  for  pub- 
licly speaking  against  the  great  evil  of  slavery,  were  rescinded 
and  pronounced  void;  and  the  secretary  was  directed  to  trans- 
mit to  the  parties  themselves,  if  living,  or,  if  not,  to  their 
families,  certified  copies  of  this  action. 

The  vTestern  Book  Agents  were  authorized  to  publish  the 
Xew  Orleans  Advocate  (the  Southwestern),  if  the  annual  loss 
should  not  exceed  two  thousand  dollars,  and  to  establish  and 
publish,  at  xUlanta,  Knoxville,  or  Xashville,  a  weekly  religious 
paper,  with  the  same  limitations  as  to  loss.  The  agents  in 
Xew  York  were  also  authorized  to  publish  a  paper  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  on  the  same  conditions. 

A  Board  of  Education  was  created,  consisting  of  six  min- 
isters (two  of  them  bishops)  and  six  laymen,  to  become  an  in- 
corporated body  in  Xew  York  City,  and  to  administer  funds 
given  for  the  purpose,  in  promoting  the  cause  of  education  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  particular  object  is  to 
aid  young  men  preparing  for  the  foreign  missionary  work,  or 
for  the  ministry,  and  other  students;  to  aid  our  theological 
schools;  and  to  aid  colleges,  academies,  and  universities  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Church.  The  second  Sunday  in  June  of 
each  year  was  ordered  to  be  observed  as  "Children's  Day,"  and 
collections  to  be  made  in  all  our  Sunday-schools  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Children's  Fund  of  this  board.  The  Children's  Fund 
was  commenced  during  the  centenary  year,  186G,  to  assist 
meritorious  Sunday-school  scholars  in  obtaining  a  higher  edu- 
cation; and  these  annual  collections  were  ordered  to  be  added 
thereto  and  separately  invested. 

Many  memorials  on  the  subject  of  lay  representation  in 
the  General  Conference  were  received  and  referred  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Lay  Delegation.  A  report  on  the  subject  was  made 
on  May  29th,  favoring  lay  delegation,  and  providing  for  the 
submission  of  an  amendment  to  the  second  Restrictive  Rule 
to  the  annual  conferences,  so  as  to  authorize  the  introduction 


1868.] 


The  General  Conference. 


175 


of  lay  delegates.  The  report  also  provided  that  the  question 
should  be  submitted  to  vote  of  all  the  laity  of  the  Church; 
and  if,  in  both  the  conferences  of  ministers  and  in  the  laity, 
the  vote  was  in  favor  of  lay  delegation,  then  two  lay  delegates 
might  be  elected  from  each  conference.  The  report  contained 
the  plan  of  electing  lay  delegates  to  the  next  General  Con- 
ference, provisionally,  on  this  contingency,  and  closed  with 
this  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  should  a  majority  of  votes  cast  by  the  people 
be  in  favor  of  lay  delegation,  and  should  three-fourths  of  all  the 
members  of  the  annual  conferences  present  and  voting  thereon 
vote  in  favor  of  the  above  proposed  change  in  the  constitution  of. 
the  Church,  then  the  General  Conference  meeting  in  1872  by  the 
requisite  two-thirds  vote  can  complete  the  change,  and  lay  dele- 
gates previously  elected  may  then  be  admitted." 

The  report  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-one  to  three;  absent  or  not  voting,  eight. 

A  number  of  important  changes  were  made  in  the  Disci- 
pline. The  number  of  annual  conferences  was  increased  from 
fifty-nine  to  seventy-one;  a  missionary  jubilee,  on  the  fiftieth 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  Missionary  Society,  April 
4,  1869,  was  ordered,  the  occasion  to  be  observed  with  devout 
thanksgiving  and  reminiscence,  and  voluntary  offerings  to  be 
made  for  the  express  purpose  of  erecting  a  mission  house  in 
New  York;  commissioners  were  appointed  to  purchase  ground 
and  erect  a  building  for  the  joint  use  of  the  Book  Concern, 
Missionary  Society,  and  connectional  institutions  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  one  million  of  dollars; 
Book  and  Publishing  Committees  were  appointed,  and  the  fol- 
lowing persons  were  elected  as  General  Conference  officials: 
Book  Agents — New  York:  Thomas  Carlton,  John  Lanahan; 
Cincinnati:  Luke  Hitchcock,  John  M.  Walden.  Editors — 
Christian  Advocate,  Daniel  Curry  ;  Western  Christian  Advocate, 
Stephen  M.  Merrill;  Quarterhj  Review,  D.  D.  Whedon;  Ladies' 
Repository,  Isaac  W.  Wiley;  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate, 
John  M.  Eeid;  Central,  B.  F.  Crary;  Pittsburgh,  S.  H.  Nesbit; 
Northern,  D.  D.  Lore;  California,  H.  C.  Benson;  Pacific,  Isaac 
Dillon;  Sunday-school  Advocate  and  Library  Books,  Daniel 
Wise ;  Sunday-school  Journal  and  Books  of  Instruction,  John  H. 


176 


The  General  Conference. 


L1SG8. 


Vincent;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast.  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society,  John  P.  Durbin;  First 
Assistant  Secretary,  William  L.  Harris;  Second  Assistant  Sec- 
retary, to  reside  in  the  West  (after  two  ballotings  without  re- 
sult, the  election  was  indefinitely  postponed).  Corresponding 
Secretary  of  the  Church  Extension  Society,  Alpha  J.  Kynett. 
Eleazer  Thomas  was  elected  Assistant  Book  Agent  (New  York), 
to  reside  in  San  Francisco. 

The  secretary  of  the  Conference  was  appointed  to  edit  the 
Discipline;  Brooklyn  was  chosen  as  the  place  for  holding  the 
next  General  Conference;  and  on  the  2d  day  of  June  the  Con- 
ference adjourned. 


1872. 


THIS  year  the  General  Conference  met  in  the  city  of  Brook- 
lyn, on  Wednesday  morning,  May  1st.  The  place  of  as- 
sembling was  the  Academy  of  Music.  Seventy-two  conferences 
were  represented;  and  at  the  organization  of  the  Conference, 
two  hundred  and  ninety  delegates  out  of  two  hundred  and 
ninety-two  entitled  to  seats  were  in  attendance.  William  L. 
Harris  was  elected  secretary  by  acclamation.  As  the  annual 
conferences  had  voted  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  lay  dele- 
gates to  the  General  Conference,  4,915  of  the  preachers  in  fa- 
vor and  1,597  against,  according  to  the  report  of  the  bishops, 
thus  making  more  than  the  necessary  three-fourths'  vote,  and 
as  the  laity  had  also  voted  by  a  large  majority  in  favor  of  lay 
representation,  it  only  remained  for  the  General  Conference 
to  complete  the  change  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  in 
order  to  admit  the  lay  delegates  who  had  been  provisionally 
elected  according  to  the  plan  submitted.  After  the  report  of 
the  vote  in  the  annual  conferences  had  been  read,  Jesse  T. 
Peck  and  others  offered  the  following  paper: 

"Whereas,  The  General  Conference  at  its  session  in  Chicago 
in  1868  devised  a  plan  for  the  admission  of  lay  delegates  as  mem- 
bers of  said  General  Conference,  and  recommended  it  to  the  godly 
consideration  of  our  ministers  and  people;  and 
'  "Whereas,  A  large  majority  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church  present  and  voting  in  accordance  with  the  pro- 
visions of  said  plan  voted  in  favor  of  lay  delegation;  and 

"Whereas,  Three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  annual  con- 
ferences voted  in  favor  of  the  change  of  the  Restrictive  Rules  pro- 
posed in  said  plan,  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  lawful  to  admit 
to  the  General  Conference  lay  delegates  elected  in  accordance  with 
said  plan;  therefore; 

"Resolved,  1.  By  the  delegates  of  the  several  annual  conferences 
in  General  Conference  assembled,  that  the  change  in  the  Restrictive 
Rules  submitted  by  the  General  Conference  and  adopted  by  the  re- 
quired three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  annual  conferences 
voting  thereon  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  said  plan,  in 
the  words  following,  to  wit:  [see  Plan]  be  and  hereby  is  adopted. 

Resolved,  2.  That  said  plan  is  hereby  ratified  and  adopted,  and 
declared  to  be  in  full  force;  and  the  lay  delegates  elected  under  it 
12  177 


178  The  General  Conference.  [1872. 


are  hereby  invited  to  take  their  seats  as  members  of  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  their  credentials 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  secretary." 

The  following  resolution  was  offered  as  a  substitute  for 
the  first  resolution,  and  passed  "by  a  vote  of  283  ayes  to 
6  nays. 

"Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  does  hereby  concur 
with  the  annual  conferences  in  changing  the  Second  Restrictive 
Rule,  so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

"  'They  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  ministerial  representa- 
tive for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  annual  conference;  nor  allow 
of  less  than  one  for  every  forty-five,  nor  more  than  two  lay  dele- 
gates for  any  annual  conference.'  " 

On  the  second  resolution  of  J.  T.  Peck  and  others,  the 
Conference  ordered  a  division  of  the  question,  so  as  to  vote  on 
so  much  of  it  as  ratifies  and  adopts  the  "plan"  of  lay  delega- 
tion. The  vote  resulted  in  253  ayes  and  3G  nays.  The  first 
item  of  the  resolution  so  adopted  is  in  these  words: 

"Resolved,  That  the  said  plan  is  hereby  ratified  and  adopt i  1." 

By  this  action,  Answer  1  to  the  Question:  "Who  shall  com- 
pose the  General  Conference,  and  what  are  the  regulations  and 
powers  belonging  to  it?"  was  so  changed  as  to  read  as  it  now 
stands  in  the  Discipline,  with  only  one  or  two  verbal  alterations. 

Samuel  A.  W.  Jewett  submitted,  as  a  substitute  for  the 
remaining  portion  of  the  resolution,  a  motion: 

"That  the  roll  of  laymen  whose  certificates  of  election  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  secretary  be  now  called,  and  that  those  persons 
who  may  be  duly  accredited  be  admitted  to  seats  in  this  General 
Conference." 

On  this  motion  the  votes  were  288  ayes  and  one  nay. 

On  motion,  the  preamble  of  J.  T.  Peck's  resolutions  was 
laid  on  the  table,  after  which  certificates  of  the  election  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  lay  delegates  by  the  several  electoral 
conferences  were  presented,  and  all  who  were  present  were 
admitted  to  seats.  Permission  was  granted  to  the  laymen  to 
express  their  sentiments  on  this  occasion;  and  James  Strong, 
of  the  Newark  conference,  submitted  and  read  an  address  on 


1872.] 


The  General  Conference. 


179 


their  behalf.  The  ministerial  delegates,  by  resolution,  recipro- 
cated their  expressions  of  esteem  and  confidence. 

Standing  committees  were  ordered  on  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy, 
Boundaries,  Book  Concern,  Missions,  Education,  Revisals,  Sun- 
day-schools and  Tracts,  Appeals,  Church  Extension,  Freedmen, 
and  State  of  the  Church — these  committees  to  consist  of  one 
member  from  each  annual  conference  delegation,  to  be  nomi- 
nated by  the  said  delegations. 

Oliver  S.  Munsell,  John  M.  Phillips  (reserve  lay  delegate 
acting  in  place  of  Philip  B.  Swing,  not  present,  from  the  Cin- 
cinnati Conference),  D.  N.  Cooley  (lay  delegate  from  Upper 
Iowa  Conference),  and  Edward  A.  Manning  were  elected  assist- 
ant secretaries.  Rules  of  order  were  adopted  and  published 
in  the  Daily  Christian  Advocate. 

Special  committees,  to  consist  of  seven  members  each,  were 
appointed  on  Temperance,  Pastoral  Address,  Expenses  of  Dele- 
gates, American  Bible  Society,  Metropolitan  Church  at  Wash- 
ington, Scandinavian  Work,  and  Fraternal  Correspondence. 
Also  committee  of  thirteen  on  Church  Insurance;  of  twenty-five 
on  the  Support  of  Bishops,  Expenses  of  Delegates,  arid  Other 
Church  Expenses;  of  five  on  Erecting  a  Monument  over  the 
Grave  of  Bishop  Kingsley  in  Syria,  and  of  nine  on  the  Cen- 
tennial of  American  Independence  in  1876. 

During  the  preceding  quadrennium  four  of  the  bishops  had 
died — Osmon  C.  Baker,  Calvin  Kingsley,  Edward  Thomson, 
and  Davis  W.  Clark.  Memorial  services  were  ordered  to  be 
held;  and  on  Saturday,  May  18th,  these  services  were  presided 
over  by  Freeborn  G.  Hibbard.  Bishop  Simpson  read  a  brief 
sketch  of  each  of  the  deceased  bishops,  and  addresses  were  then 
made  as  follows:  On  Bishop  Thomson,  by  Daniel  Curry;  on 
Bishop  Baker,  by  Lorenzo  R.  Thayer;  on  Bishop  Clark,  by  Luke 
Hitchcock;  and  on  Bishop  Kingsley,  by  Moses  Hill. 

Luke  H.  Wiseman  and  Wm.  Morley  Punshon,  fraternal 
delegates  from  the  British  Conference,  were  introduced  to  the 
Conference,  May  8th,  and  presented  their  credentials  as  dele- 
gates and  the  address  of  the  British  Conference  to  the  General 
Conference.  The  credentials  and  the  address  having  been  read, 
they  both  addressed  the  Conference.  Howard  Crosby,  fraternal 
delegate  from  the   General  Assembly   of  the  Presbyterian 


180 


The  General  Conference. 


[1872. 


Church,  was  introduced,  and  presented  his  credentials.  He 
then  addressed  the  Conference.  Joseph  W.  McKay,  an  accred- 
ited delegate  from  the  Irish  Wesleyan  Conference,  presented 
the  address  from  his  conference,  and  addressed  the  Conference. 

George  R.  Sanderson  and  Alexander  Sutherland  were  in- 
troduced as  delegates  from  the  "Wesleyan  Conference  of  Canada; 
Henry  Pope,  as  delegate  from  the  Wesleyan  Conference  of  East- 
ern British  America;  E.  A.  Wheat,  C.  II.  Williams,  J.  B.  Ham- 
ilton, and  others,  from  "The  Methodist  Church;"  Dr.  George 
B.  Bacon,  from  the  American  Congregational  Council,  and 
Joseph  Wild  and  Michael  Benson  from  the  Canada  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  On  May  11th,  addresses  were  delivered  by 
the  delegates  from  four  of  the  corresponding  bodies  before  the 
General  Conference:  Me-srs.  Wild  and  Benson  speaking  on 
May  14th.  The  Committee  on  Correspondence  was  instructed 
to  prepare  suitable  resolutions  in  reference  to  the  addresses 
from  the  fraternal  delegates,  just  delivered. 

The  Committee  on  Fraternal  Correspondence  on  a  later  day 
reported  answers  to  these  addresses,  which  were  adopted,  the 
secretary,  G.  W.  Woodruff,  and  W.  L.  Harris  being  authorized 
to  edit  the  same  before  they  should  be  engrossed  for  delivery. 

On  May  16th,  John  J.  Murray,  a  fraternal  delegate  from  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  was  received,  and  he  delivered 
an  address  to  the  Conference.  Hon.  George  Tickers,  a  co-dele- 
gate, could  not  be  present,  but  he  forwarded  a  letter,  which  was 
read  to  the  Conference.  Bishop  Singleton  T.  Jones,  of  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  sent  a  letter,  stating 
that  on  account  of  disaffection  in  that  Church  on  the  subject 
of  union  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  he  desired  that 
further  negotiations  looking  to  that  end  might  be  stayed  for 
the  present.  The  address  of  the  Evangelical  Association  to 
the  General  Conference  was  read  on  May  2 2d,  and  R.  Dubs 
and  Thomas  Bowman,  delegates  from  that  Church,  addressed 
the  Conference. 

On  May  27th  the  fraternal  delegates  from  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society,  Drs.  Gillette  and  Dunn,  were 
introduced,  and  addressed  the  Conference.  On  June  1st  a 
fraternal  letter  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  African  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  in  session  in  Xashville,  Tenn.,  was 


1872.] 


The  General  Conference. 


181 


read  and  adopted.  This  letter  was  in  answer  to  a  telegram 
received  from  that  Conference  a  few  days  previously. 

The  following  brethren  were,  on  the  nomination  of  the 
Committee  on  Fraternal  Relations,  appointed  fraternal  dele- 
gates to  the  several  bodies  named:  English  Wesley  an  Confer- 
ence: the  bishop  who  shall  attend  the  conference  in  Germany 
and  Switzerland  and  J.  A.  McCauley;  alternate,  F.  G.  Hibbard; 
Irish  Wesleyan  Conference,  same  as  above;  Canada  Wesleyan 
Conference,  Miner  Raymond,  A.  C.  George;  Eastern  British 
America  Conference,  William  R.  Clark,  William  II.  Elliott; 
Canada  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Moses  Hill,  Homer  Eaton; 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  Lucius  C.  Matlock, 
James  Lynch;  Methodist  Church  in  the  United  States,  Wm. 
Hunter,  Gideon  Martin;  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  Wesley 
Kenney,  Joseph  M.  Trimble;  Evangelical  Association,  Jacob 
Rothweiler,  James  F.  Chalfant;  National  Council  cf  Congre- 
gational Churches,  Stephen  Allen,  J.  C.  W.  Coxe,  Otis  H. 
Tiffany;  General  Assembly  of  Presbyterian  Church,  S.  H. 
Nesbit,  Jacob  B.  Graw;  and  Baptist  Church  (through  their 
Missionary  Societies),  C.  D.  Foss,  D.  Stevenson. 

The  secretary  was  requested  to  prepare  and  cause  to  be 
printed  a  manual,  containing  the  rules  of  order,  the  roll  of 
delegates,  list  of  standing  committees,  with  the  times  and  places 
of  meeting,  and  such  other  information  as  he  might  deem  neces- 
sary for  the  use  and  convenience  of  the  Conference. 

On  petition  of  a  convention  of  colored  members  in  Georgia 
and  of  the  Georgia  Conference,  the  organization  of  a  Confer- 
ence of  colored  preachers  in  that  state  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Boundaries.  The  work  among  colored  people 
had  heretofore  been  looked  after  chiefly  by  white  conferences 
or  mixed  white  and  colored  conferences.  It  was  thought  that 
new  conferences,  consisting  of  colored  preachers  only,  might 
be  organized  in  the  South;  hence  this  request  from  Georgia. 
The  Lexington  Conference  had  been  formed  out  of  the  Ken- 
tucky Conference  during  the  quadrennium,  composed  of  col- 
ored preachers;  and  the  Washington  Conference,  of  colored 
preachers,  had  only  been  organized. 

The  principal  subject  which  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
Conference  was  the  Book  Concern.    During  the  quadrennium 


182 


The  General  Conference. 


[1872. 


just  ended,  the  Junior  Book  Agent,  John  Lanahan,  discovered 
in  some  of  the  departments  of  the  business  loose  methods  of 
keeping  the  accounts  and  other  irregularities;  and  he  believed 
there  were  also  frauds,  causing  great  losses  to  the  Concern. 
The  Senior  Agent,  Thomas  Carlton,  did  not  credit  the  state- 
ment that  frauds  had  been  committed  by  any  of  the  employees; 
but  to  make  the  matter  clear,  both  the  Agents  and  the  Book 
Committee,  to  which  it  had  been  referred,  and  which  had  heard 
both  the  accusation  and  the  defense,  engaged  expert  account- 
ants to  examine  all  the  books,  accounts,  and  correspondence  of 
the  Agents,  to  discover  amihing  wrong,  if  it  existed.  The 
Book  Committee  presented  both  a  majority  and  a  minority  re- 
port, the  former  being  accompanied  by  the  report  of  James 
P.  Kilbreth,  who  had  been  employed  as  a  referee.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  joint  report  of  the  Agents  at  Xew  York,  Dr.  Lana- 
han  made  a  sub-report,  defending  his  official  conduct,  and  Dr. 
Carlton  presented  a  rejoinder.  S.  J.  Goodenough,  superin- 
tendent of  the  printing-department,  also  sent  a  communication; 
and  John  A.  Gunn  made  a  defense  of  his  report  submitted  to 
Dr.  Carlton,  and  embodied  in  the  minority  report  of  the  Book 
Committee. 

A  special  committee  on  the  Book  Concern,  to  consist  of  one 
member  from  each  annual  conference  delegation,  was  ordered, 
and  each  delegation  thereupon  selected  a  member  to  serve 
on  this  committee.  To  this  committee  were  referred  all  re- 
ports and  papers  relative  to  alleged  frauds  and  irregularities 
in  the  Book  Concern;  but  all  other  papers  pertaining  to  the 
publishing  interests  of  the  Church  were  referred  to  the  regular 
standing  committee  on  the  Book  Concern.  In  case  any  member 
of  the  special  committee  should  be  absent,  the  delegation  which 
appointed  him  was  authorized  to  fill  his  place.  This  com- 
mittee, after  a  full  and  patient  investigation  of  all  the  irregu- 
larities and  alleged  frauds  in  the  Book  Concern  at  Xew  York, 
made  an  elaborate  report,  stating:  1.  That  the  evidence  showed 
that  frauds  had  been  practiced  in  the  bindery,  whereby  the 
Book  Concern  had  suffered  loss;  2.  That  there  had  been  ir- 
regularities in  the  management  of  the  business  of  the  house, 
by  which  losses  had  been,  or  might  have  been,  sustained;  3.  That 
such  losses,  if  any,  were  not  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  en- 


1872.] 


^he  General  Conference. 


183 


danger  the  financial  strength  of  the  establishment  or  to  im- 
pair its  capital;  4.  That  the  business  methods  used  had  been 
such  as  to  afford  opportunities '  for  frauds  and  peculations  by 
subordinates;  5.  That  no  Agent  or  Assistant  Agent  is  or  had 
been  implicated  or  interested  in  any  frauds  that  may  have  been 
practiced  in  the  Concern;  6.  That  the  present  methods  of 
keeping  accounts  and  of  conducting  the  business  are  such  as 
to  insure  reasonable  and  ordinary  protection  against  frauds 
and  irregularities;  and. 7.  That  the  report  of  the  Agents  was 
a  fair  exhibit  of  the  assets  and  liabilities  of  the  Concern.  The 
report  was  adopted. 

The  boundaries  of  seventy-six  conferences,  a  gain  of  five 
since  the  preceding  General  Conference,  were  defined;  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  organized  by  a  select 
number  of  women  in  Boston,  in  1869,  was  recognized  as  a 
valuable  institution  of  the  Church;  and  it  was  determined  to 
elect  a  secretary  for  the  Board  of  Education,  and  again  or- 
dered that  the  second  Sunday  of  June,  annually,  be  every- 
where observed  as  "Children's  Day,"  and  that  on  that,  day  a 
collection  be  taken  in  the  Sunday-school  in  aid  of  the  Sun- 
day-school Fund  of  the  Board  of  Education. 

It  was  reported  in  the  Conference  that  Abel  Minard,  of 
Morristown,  J.,  had  established  a  Home,  and  secured  a 
charter  therefor,  for  the  training  of  daughters  of  foreign  mis- 
sionaries of  our  Church,  for  the  reception  of  orphan  and  half- 
orphan  daughters  of  our  deceased  ministers,  and  also  for  such 
other  orphan  and  half-orphan  girls  as  the  trustees  might  ad- 
mit, and  had  secured  the  same  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  It  was  therefore  resolved  that  the  Minard  Home 
be  commended  to  the  generous  liberality  of  the  Church  and 
to  the  public. 

The  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church  reported  an 
amendment  to  the  chapter  in  the  Discipline  on  imprudent 
conduct,  so  as  to  make  more  explicit  the  General  Eule  on  the 
subject  of  sinful  amusements.  These  amusements  were  grouped 
as  dancing,  playing  at  games  of  chance,  theater-going,  horse- 
races, circuses,  dancing  parties  or  balls,  patronizing  dancing- 
schools,  and  taking  such  other  amusements  as  are  obviously 
of  misleading  or  questionable  moral  tendency.     The  report 


184 


The  General  Conference; 


[1872. 


was  adopted,  and  their  recommendation  has  been  embodied  in 
the  Discipline. 

The  Agents  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  in  New  York 
were  authorized  and  recommendedto  establish  a  monthly  Meth- 
odist magazine  in  Boston,  to  be  under  the  management  of  the 
Boston  Wesleyan  Association,  provided  that  a  satisfactory  ar- 
rangement could  be  made  between  the  Agents  and  the  asso- 
ciation, and  provided  that  the  Book  Concern  be  guaranteed 
against  loss.  If  so  established,  the  bishops  were  authorized 
to  appoint  an  editor. 

On  nomination  of  the  bishops,  the  General  Conference 
elected  Boards  of  Managers  for  the  Missionary,  Church  Ex- 
tension, Sunda}'-school,  Tract,  and  Freedmen's  Aid  Societies. 

It  was  recommended  by  the  Conference  that  the  Centen- 
nial of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  be  celebrated 
during  the  month  of  June,  closing  with  July  4,  18 7G,  by  all 
the  Churches  and  people  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
and  that  collections  be  then  made  for  the  benefit  of  our  local 
and  connectional  interests. 

The  Ladies  and  Pastors'  Christian  Union,  an  organiza- 
tion founded  in  Philadelphia  for  religious  work  in  the  homes 
of  the  people,  and  for  tlie  evangelization  of  the  neglected 
masses  in  our  cities,  under  the  supervision  of  the  regular  pas- 
torate, was  sanctioned  and  commended  by  the  Conference,  and 
a  Constitution  was  adopted  for  the  Union.  The  bishops  were 
directed  to  adopt  the  necessary  measures  to  procure  for  it  an 
act  of  incorporation,  and  the  pastors  of  our  Churches  were 
instructed  to  co-operate  with  the  society  in  carrying  out  the 
important  work  for  which  it  was  organized. 

The  Agents  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  were  made 
co-ordinate,  two  to  be  elected  for  New  York  and  two  for  Cin- 
cinnati; and  it  was  determined  that  in  the  selection  of  the 
General  Book  Committee  no  person  who  had  served  on  such 
committee  during  the  last  four  years  should  be  reappointed. 

The  presiding  elders  were  empowered  to  form  district  con- 
ferences in  their  districts  wherever  a  majority  of  the  quarterly 
conferences  of  the  circuits  and  stations  shall  have  approved 
of  the  same.  These  district  conferences  were  to  be  composed 
of  all  traveling  and  local  preachers  in  the  district,  the  exhort- 


1872.] 


The  General  Conference, 


185 


ers,  the  district  stewards,  and  the  Sunday-school  superintend- 
ents. These  conferences  were  authorized  to  have  a  general 
oversight  of  all  the  temporal  and  spiritual  affairs  of  the  dis- 
trict, to  license  local  preachers  and  have  supervision  over  them, 
to  look  after  benevolent  contributions,  inquire  into  the  con- 
dition of  the  Sunday-schools,  to  take  measures  for  extending 
the  work  of  the  Church  into  neglected  territory,  and  estab- 
lish mission  Sunday-schools  therein,  and  provide  for  religious 
and  literary  exercises  during  their  own  sessions. 

In  consequence  of  the  decease  of  Bishops  Baker,  Kingsley, 
Thomson,  and  Clark  since  the  last  General  Conference,  the 
infirmities  of  Bishop  Morris,  and  the  enlargement  of  the  work 
of  the  conferences,  it  was  deemed  best  to  elect  eight  men  to 
the  Episcopacy.  The  ballots  for  new  bishops  were  taken  May 
20th,  21st,  and  2 2d,  and  resulted  in  the  election  of  Thomas 
Bowman,  William  Logan  Harris,  Randolph  Sinks  Foster,  Isaac 
William  Wiley,  Stephen  Mason  Merrill,  Edward  Gayer  An- 
drews, Gilbert  Haven,  and  Jesse  Truesdell  Peck.  Their  con- 
secration to  the  office  and  work  of  a  bishop  took  place  May  24th. 

The  Conference  located  the  residences  of  the  newly  elected 
bishops  at  San  Francisco,  St.  Louis,  Boston,  Atlanta,  Chicago, 
Cincinnati,  Council  Bluffs  or  vicinity,  and  St.  Paul — the  bish- 
ops selecting  their  place  of  residence  according  to  their  se- 
niority in  official  position.  The  support  of  the  bishops  was 
made  a  direct  charge  upon  the  Church,  the  same  as  that  of 
other  ministers,  the  Book  Committee  estimating  the  amounts 
necessary  for  this  purpose,  and  assessing  them  upon  the  annual 
conferences  according  to  •  their  several  ability.  The  annual 
conferences  were  directed  to  apportion  the  amounts  so  assessed 
upon  them  to  the  several  districts,  and  the  district  stewards 
to  the  several  charges.  The  amounts  collected  under  this 
provision  were  ordered  to  be  paid  to  the  Book  Agents,  by  them 
to  be  paid  to  the  bishops. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  meeting  the  expenses  of  the 
next  General  Conference  by  collections  in  all  the  Churches, 
the  amounts  -  estimated  as  necessary  for  this  purpose  to  be 
distributed  by  the  bishops  among  the  several  conferences, 
which  conferences  were  to  take  the  necessary  means  to  collect 
the  same. 


186 


The  General  Conference. 


[1872. 


William  L.  Harris,  having  been  chosen  a  bishop,  resigned 
his  place  as  secretary  of  the  conference,  and  George  W.  Wood- 
ruff was  elected  in  his  stead,  May  23d.  They  were  appointed 
to  edit  the  Journal  of  the  General  Conference  and  the  new 
edition  of  the  Discipline. 

The  appeals  were  heard  and  the  action  of  the  conferences 
in  the  various  cases  reviewed,  and  disposal  of  the  same  made, 
of  the  following  persons:  Richard  May,  of  California  Confer- 
ence, remanded;  W.  G.  Fowler,  of  Missouri, -affirmed;  J.  S. 
Moore,  Southern  Illinois,  remanded;  B.  D.  Palmer,  Newark, 
remanded;  W.  E.  Hoback,  North  Indiana,  remanded;  Henry 
S.  Shaw,  Northwest  Indiana,  affirmed;  J.  B.  Craig,  Central 
Illinois,  affirmed;  T.  B.  Taylor,  of  Kansas,  remanded;  A.  J. 
Ivirkpatrick,  of  Iowa,  reversed;  Jonathan  Yannote,  of  New 
Jersey,  reversed,  and  W.  M.  Smith,  of  Colorado,  laid  over,  as 
neither  prosecutor  nor  counsel  for  the  appellant  or  the  ap- 
pellant himself  was  present. 

Inasmuch  as  the  hearing  of  appeals,  even  though  they  might 
be  referred  to  a  committee,  has  always  consumed  a  great  deal 
of  time  in  the  General  Conference,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  pro- 
vide some  other  method  of  determining  such  cases;  and  appeals, 
therefore,  instead  of  coming  before  the  General  Conference,  were 
ordered  to  be  made  to  a  select  number  of  elders,  to  be  known 
as  "Triers  of  Appeals."  The  several  annual  conferences  were 
directed  to  choose  annually  seven  judicious  elders  to  try  appeals. 
If  any  member  of  an  annual  conference  is  convicted  after  trial, 
for  any  cause,  he  may  appeal  his  case  to  a  judicial  conference, 
to  be  composed  of  the  Triers  of  Appeals  from  three  conferences, 
conveniently  near  to  that  from  which  the  appeal  is  taken,  to  be 
designated  by  the  bishop  having  charge  of  that  conference ;  and 
thirteen  Triers  at  least  must  be  present  to  constitute  a  quorum. 
One  of  the  bishops  shall  preside.  The  judicial  conference  shall 
appoint  a  secretary,  who  shall  keep  a  faithful  record  of  all  the 
proceedings,  and  at  the  close  of  the  trial  transmit  the  records 
made  and  the  papers  submitted  in  the  case  to  the  secretary  of  the 
preceding  General  Conference,  to  be  filed  and  preserved  with 
the  papers  of  that  body. 

In  order  to  place  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
truly   fraternal   relations   towards   the   Methodist  Episcopal 


1872.] 


The  General  Conference. 


187 


Church,  South,  which  were  proposed  by  that  Church  in  1848, 
it  was  resolved  by  the  General  Conference  that  a  delegation  con- 
sisting of  two  ministers  and  one  layman  should  be  appointed 
to  convey  the  fraternal  greetings  of  this  Conference  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Church,  South,  at  its  next  ensuing  ses- 
sion. In  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  the  bishops  appointed 
Albert  S.  Hunt,  Charles  H.  Fowler,  and  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk. 

The  proposed  union  of  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Zion  Church  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  fell  through 
on  account  of  disaffection  among  the  preachers  of  the  former 
Church. 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  appoint  a  commission  of  six 
persons,  three  ministers  and  three  laymen,  to  prepare  a  succinct 
code  of  ecclesiastical  jurisprudence  and  procedure,  embracing  the 
general  principles  applicable  to  Church  trials,  and  report  to  the 
next  General  Conference. 

The  following  General  Conference  officials  were  elected: 
Book  Agents,  New  York,  Eeuben  Nelson,  John  M.  Phillips; 
Cincinnati,  Luke  Hitchcock,  John  M.  Walden.  Secretaries,  Mis- 
sionary Society,  Robert  L.  Dashiell,  Thomas  M.  Eddy,  John  M. 
Reid,  and  John  P.  Durbin,  honorary  secretary;  Church  Exten- 
sion Society,  Alpha  J.  Kynett;  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  Richard 
S.  Rust;  Board  of  Education,  Erastus  0.  Haven.  Editors,  Meth- 
odist Quarterly  Review,  Daniel  D.  Whedon;  Ladies'  Repository 
and  Golden  Hours,  Erastus  Wentworth ;  Christian  Advocate,  New 
York,  Daniel  Curry;  Western  Christian  Advocate,  Francis  S. 
Hoyt;  Northern,  Dallas  D.  Lore;  Pittsburg,  William  Hunter; 
Northwestern,  Arthur  Edwards;  Central,  Benjamin  St.  James 
Fry;  California,  Henry  C.  Benson;  Pacific,  Isaac  Dillon;  (At- 
lanta) Methodist  Advocate,  Nelson  E.  Cobleigh;  Christliche 
Apologete,  William  Nast;  German  Family  Magazine  (Haus  und 
Herd)  and  Books,  Henry  Liebhart. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  new  Discipline  for  1872,  the 
editor  omits  the  form  of  question  and  answer,  and  the  para- 
graphs are  numbered  consecutively  throughout  the  volume. 
Other  revisions  and  changes  ordered  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence are  made  in  this  edition,  but  none  affecting  the  general 
efficiency  of  the  Church  in  its  economy  or  work. 

The  Conference  adjourned  June  4th. 


1876. 


THE  General  Conference  'of  this  year  was  held  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  commencing  on  Monday,  May  1st.  Eighty 
conferences  were  represented,  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-two 
clerical  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  lay  delegates  Were 
entitled  to  seats.  Of  these,  nearly  three  hundred  were  pres- 
ent at  the  first  session.  According  to  arrangement,  the  Con- 
ference assembled  in  the  Academy  of  Music.  All  the  bishops 
were  in  attendance.  George  W.  Y\~oodrufj:  was  elected  sec- 
retary, and  Israel  C.  Pershing,  David  S.  Monroe,  William 
Wells,  George  Mather,  James  W.  FitzGerald,  William  J.  Pax- 
son,  and  Isaac  S.  Bingham  assistant  secretaries.  The  city  of 
St.  Louis  had  been  chosen  by  the  last  General  Conference  as 
the  place  for  holding  the  present  session;  but  for  various  rea- 
sons it  was  found  to  be  impracticable  to  convene  in  that  city, 
and  on  the  recommendation  of  more  than  three-fourths  of 
the  annual  conferences  the  change  was  made  to  Baltimore. 
As  soon  as  the  General  Conference  was  organized,  this  change 
was  ratified  and  confirmed. 

Bishop  Andrews  read  a  Centennial  Address  of  the  Bishops 
to  the  pastors  and  congregations  of  the  Church  in  the  United 
States.  Rules  of  order  were  adopted,  and  standing  commit- 
tees were  ordered  to  be  chosen,  to  consist  of  one  member  from 
each  of  the  annual  conferences,  as  follows:  on  Episcopacy, 
Itinerancy,  Missions,  Education,  Revisals,  Sunday-schools  and 
Tracts,  Church  Extension,  Freedmen,  State  of  the  Church, 
Book  Concern,  and  Boundaries. 

Special  committees  were  ordered  and  appointed  on  Cen- 
tennial Observance,  of  nine  members;  Piules  of  Order,  seven 
members;  Time  and  Place  for  Receiving  Fraternal  Delegates, 
five  members;  Judiciary,  twelve  members;  Lay  Representation, 
two  ministers  and  two  laymen  from  each  General  Conference 
district;  Expenses  of  the  General  Conference  and  Delegates, 
seven  members;  Reception  of  Fraternal  Delegates,  five  mem- 
bers; Temperance,  Pastoral  Address,  and  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, seven  members  each;  Revisal  of  Hymn  Book,  nine 

188 


1876.J 


The  General  Conference. 


189 


members;  New  Charters  for  our  Benevolent  Institutions  or 
Eeligious  Associations,  five  members;  Expenses  of  Judicial 
Conference,  one  member  from  each  General  Conference  dis- 
trict; Memorial  Services,  five  members;  and  on  Correspond- 
ence, five  members. 

Bishop  Janes  read  the  Quadrennial  Address  of  the  Bish- 
ops; and  the  several  committees  were  instructed  to  consider 
and  report  upon  such  portions  of  the  Address  as  relate  to  the 
interests  which  they  have  in  charge. 

"William  B.  Pope  and  James  H.  Eigg  were  introduced  to 
the  Conference  as  the  fraternal  representatives  of  the  British 
Wesleyan  Conference,  on  Saturday  morning,  May  6th;  and 
they  presented  their  credentials  and  the  Address  of  their  con- 
ference. These  were  then  read,  after  which,  according  to 
the  arrangements  made  by  the  Committee  of  Eeception,  they 
both  addressed  the  Conference. 

John  Lanahan  presented  a  memorial  from  C.  H.  Eichard- 
son  and  others,  containing  certain  adverse  statements  con- 
cerning the  solvency  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern. The  substance  of  this  memorial  had  been  given  to  the 
public  through  the  reports  of  the  Associated  Press;  and  on 
motion  of  John  M.  Walden,  it  was 

"Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  is  hereby 
instructed  to  consider  the  subject  of  said  memorial,  and  report  at 
the  earliest  moment  practicable  upon  the  financial  condition  of  the 
Western  Methodist  Book  Concern." 

The  committee  diligently  examined  into  the  statements 
made  by  the  memorialists,  and  reported  that  the  property 
owned  by  the  Book  Concern  in  Cincinnati  and  elsewhere 
amounted  to  $789,749.16,  and  its  liabilities  were  $486,463.48. 
The  charge  made  was  that  there  was  only  $446,526.15  of  actual 
property,  and  these  figures  were  made  up  by  throwing  out 
$543,526.16  worth  of  property,  the  value  of  which  able  busi- 
ness men  in  Cincinnati  reckoned  at  par.  The  report  closed 
with  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  by  an  over- 
whelming majority: 

"Resolved,  That  the  assertion  of  the  memorialists  that  the  West- 
ern Book  Concern  is  'practically  insolvent'  and  is  'in  an  unsound, 
dangerous,  and  bankrupt  condition,'  is  both  unjust  and  untrue,  and 


190 


The  General  Conference.  [1876. 


entitled  to  no  consideration  by  the  public,  and  that  any  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  was  instrumental  in  its  clan- 
destine publication  in  the  newspapers  deserves  the  censure  of  this 
General  Conference  and  the  condemnation  of  every  true  friend  of 
the  Church." 

Fraternal  delegates  were  received  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  viz.,  James  A.  Duncan  and  Landon 
C.  Garland.  The  venerable  Lovick  Pierce,  the  senior  member 
of  the  delegation,  sent  a  warm  and  cordial  address  to  the 
Conference,  not  being  able  to  be  present  in  person.  They 
presented  their  credentials  on  Friday,  May  12th,  and  both 
addressed  the  Conference.  Delegates  were  also  received  from 
the  Methodist  Church  (Alexander  Clark),  the  Methodist  Prot- 
estant Church  (Silas  B.  Luther  and  Charles  W.  Button), 
Xational  Council  of  Congregational  Churches  (J.  E.  Rankin), 
the  x\frican  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (James  H.  A. 
Johnston,  B.  F.  Tanner,  and  'William  F.  Dickinson),  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  (Francis  L.  Patton),  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church  (Bishop  George  D.  Cummins),  the  Canada  Methodist 
Church  (John  A.  Williams),  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Canada  (Bishop  Albert  Carman  and  E.  Lounsbury). 

Reports  were  made  to  the  Conference  by  the  delegates  ap- 
pointed by  authority  of  the  General  Conference  of  1872  to 
visit  the  conferences  and  assemblies  -of  the  various  Christian 
denominations  named — the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  Baptist 
Church,  Wesleyan  Conference  of  Eastern  British  America, 
British  Wesleyan  Conference,  Evangelical  Association,  the 
Methodist  Church,  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Connexion  (United 
States). 

A  complaint  was  made  by  John  Lanahan  that  the  Journal 
of  the  General  Conference  of  1872  was  incomplete,  by  the 
omission  of  an  important  part  of  a  report  (that  on  the  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern);  and  Bishop  Harris  and  George  W. 
Woodruff,  who  were  co-editors  of  the  Journal,  asked  for  a 
committee  to  inquire  into  the  alleged  omission.  The  com- 
mittee was  ordered,  and  William  Rice,  Henry  B.  Ridgaway, 
C.  Aultman,  J.  Leaton,  and  J.  B.  Weaver  were  appointed. 


1876.]  The  General  Conference.  191 


The  committee,  after  investigating  the  matter,  reported  that 
the  report  of  John  A.  Gunn,  expert  accountant,  who  was  em- 
ployed to  examine  the  books  and  accounts  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern, was  laid  before  the  Conference  of  1872  during  the  call 
of  May  20th,  and  that  under  the  rule  it  went  to  the  appro- 
priate committee,  and  from  that  moment  it  ceased  to  be  under 
the  control  of  the  secretaries,  nor  was  there  any  rule  of  the 
Conference  by  which  the  secretaries  could  reclaim  it.  The 
document  was  published  in  the  Daily  Advocate,  May  23d,  but 
with  the  exhibits  and  appendix  omitted.  The  secretaries,  in 
compiling  matter  for  the  appendix  to  the  Journal,  not  having 
the  original  in  their  possession,  inserted  the  report  of  Mr. 
Gunn  as  it  appeared  in  the  Advocate,  under  the  belief  that  it 
was  complete.  Accordingly  the  committee  expressed  their 
opinion  that  the  secretaries  were  wholly  without  blame  in  the 
matter.   The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  secretaries  exonerated. 

The  Committee  on  Ecclesiastical  Jurisprudence  appointed 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1872  brought  in  two  reports, 
a  majority  and  a  minority  report,  both  of  which  were  referred 
to  a  special  committee  of  nine,  composed  of  Wm.  H.  Hunter, 
Morris  D'C.  Crawford,  Geo.  L.  Clark,  Luke  Hitchcock,  Jacob 
Eothweiler,  Stephen  B.  Ransom,  Daniel  P.  Mitchell,  Wm.  S. 
Prentice,  and  John  "VY.  Ray.  The  report  of  this  committee 
was  made  on  May  27th,  but  was  not  taken  up  for  discussion 
until  the  last  day  of  the  session,  May  31st.  After  some  time 
was  spent  in  the  consideration  of  its  several  items,  the  whole 
subject  was  indefinitely  postponed;  and,  on  motion  of  R.  M. 
Hatfield,  the  bishops  were  requested  to  appoint  a  new  com- 
mittee of  five,  to  whom  the  report  which  had  been  submitted 
and  the  whole  subject  of  an  ecclesiastical  code  might  be  re- 
ferred, to  report  at  the  General  Conference  of  1880. 

The  Conference  considered  the  subject  of  changing  the 
character  and  scope  of  the  Ladies7  Repository,  with  a  view  to 
making  it  a  magazine  of  a  wider  range  and  adapting  it  to  the 
Church  at  large,  and  not  confining  it  to  the  women  particu- 
larly. The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  offered  the  fol- 
lowing resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Agents  of  the  Western  Book  Concern,  the 
editor  of  the  Ladies'  Repository,  and  the  Western  Section  of  the 


192 


The  General  Conference. 


[1876. 


General  Book  Committee  be  authorized  to  change  the  name  or 
modify  the  scope  and  style  of  the  Ladies'  Repository  and  the  Golden 
Hours,  published  at  Cincinnati,  as  they  may  deem  best." 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  select  and  appoint  in  ad- 
dition five  men  of  thorough  literary  culture  and  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  the  intellectual  and  religious  wants  of  the 
Church  and  country,  to  co-operate  with  the  Book  Agents  in 
-  Xew  York  and  the  committee  appointed  by  the  foregoing  reso- 
lution, in  effecting  these  changes. 

After  the  representatives  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  had  addressed  the  Conference,  and  the  letter 
of  Lovick  Pierce  had  been  read,  a  motion  was  made  and 
carried  that  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed,  to  whom  shall 
be  referred  the  matters  presented  by  the  said  representatives 
relating  to  the  appointment  of  a  commission  of  five  to  con- 
sider and  adjust  the  points  of  difference  between  the  two  great 
branches  of  Methodism.  The  committee  appointed  was  as 
follows:  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  Augustus  C.  George,  Oliver  Hoyt, 
Fernando  C.  Holliday,  J.  D.  Blake,  W.  E.  Clark,  and  J.  W.  W. 
Bolton.  On  May  19th  they  reported,  recommending  that  the 
bishops  be  directed  to  appoint  a  commission,  consisting  of 
three  ministers  and  two  laymen,  to  meet  with  a  similar  com- 
mission authorized  by  the  General  Conference  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South,  to  adjust  all  existing  diffi- 
culties. The  report  was  adopted;  and  the  bishops  appointed 
Morris  D'C.  Crawford,  Enoch  L.  Fancher,  Erasmus  Q.  Fuller, 
Clinton  B.  Fisk,  and  John  P.  Xewman  members  of  this  com- 
mission on  behalf  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

During  the  preceding  quadrennium  Bishop  Morris  and 
Missionary  Bishop  Eoberts  had  both  died — the  former  at  his 
home  in  Springfield,  0.,  September  2,  1874,  and  the  latter  in 
Liberia,  January  30,  1875.  Besides  these,  Thomas  M.  Eddy, 
one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Missionary  Society;  Dallas  D. 
Lore,  editor  of  the  Northern  Christian  Advocate,  and  Nelson 
E.  Cobleigh,  editor  of  the  Atlanta  Methodist  Advocate,  died  in 
office.  Special  memorial  services  were  held  in  commemoration 
of  their  work  and  character  on  May  16th.  Bishop  Janes  pro- 
nounced a  eulogy  on  Bishop  Morris  and  Missionary  Bishop 
Roberts;  R.  L.  Dashiell  reverted  to  the  life  and  character  of 


1876.] 


The  General  Conference. 


193 


T.  M.  Eddy;  E.  0.  Haven  paid  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
D.  D.  Lore,  and  Joseph  Cummings  spoke  concerning  N.  E. 
Cobleigh. 

It  was  resolved  to  hold  special  centennial  services  in  the 
Academy  of  Music  on  May  21st,  at  three  o'clock  P.  M.,  in 
commemoration  of  the  session  of  a  Methodist  Conference  in 
Baltimore,  May  21,  1776,  and  arrangements  for  the  same  were 
accordingly  made.  On  that  occasion  Bishop  Ames  presided, 
and  after  the  opening  exercises  John  Lanahan  read  some  ex- 
tracts from  the  early  Minutes,  showing  the  state  of  the  Church 
one  hundred  years  ago.  J.  H.  Brown,  of  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference; Bishop  Simpson,  and  E.  S.  Matthews  made  addresses 
appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  reported  favorably 
on  a  petition  from  the  Louisiana  Conference,  asking  that  the 
Southwestern  Christian  Advocate,  now  published  in  New  Or- 
leans as  a  private  enterprise,  be  adopted  as  an  official  weekly 
paper  under  the  control  of  the  General  Book  Committee,  be- 
ginning June  1st,  proximo.  They  recommended  also  that  if 
the  expense  of  publishing  the  paper  exceed  two  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year,  and  such  excess  shall  not  be  provided  for  and 
paid  by  the  patronizing  conferences,  the  paper  shall  be  dis- 
continued.   The  report  was  adopted. 

The  following  General  Conference  officials  were  elected,  to 
serve  for  four  years:  Book  Agents,  New  York,  Eeuben  Nelson, 
John  M.  Phillips;  Cincinnati,  Luke  Hitchcock,  John  M. 
Walden.  Secretaries,  Missionary  Society,  E.  L.  Dashiell,  John 
M.  Eeid;  Church  Extension  Society,  Alpha  J.  Kynett;  Freed- 
men's  Aid  Society,  Eichard  S.  Eust.  Editors,  Methodist 
Quarterly  Review,  Daniel  D.  Whedon;  Christian  Advocate 
(New  York),  Charles  H.  Fowler;  Ladies'  Repository  and 
Golden  Hours,  Daniel  Curry;  Western  Christian  Advocate, 
Francis  S.  Hoyt;  Northern,  0.  H.  Warren;  Pittsburgh,  Alfred 
Wheeler;  Northwestern,  Arthur  Edwards;  Central,  Benjamin 
St.  James  Fry;  California,  Henry  C.  Benson;  Pacific,  John 
H.  Acton;  Southwestern,  H.  E.  Eevels;  Methodist  Advocate, 
Erasmus  Q.  Fuller;  Sunday-school  Papers,  Books,  and  Tracts, 
John  H.  Vincent;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast;  Haus 
und  Herd  and  German  Books,  Henry  Liebhart. 
13 


194 


The  General  Conference. 


[1876. 


The  Committee  on  the  Revision  of  the  Hymn  Book  re- 
ported that  they  were  unanimously  of  the  opinion  that  a  thor- 
ough revision  of  the  Hymn  Book  then  in  use  was  imperatively 
demanded,  and  recommended  that  the  Bishops  be  requested 
to  appoint,  as  soon  as  practicable,  a  committee  of  fifteen,  to 
whom  should  be  committed  the  work  of  revision  and  also  the 
preparation  of  a  suitable  Hymn  and  Tune  Book  for  the  use 
of  the  Church.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  bishops  ac- 
cordingly appointed  the  Committee  of  Revision.  This  com- 
mittee at  once  set  about  the  duty  assigned  to  them,  and  in 
eighteen  months  completed  their  task.  After  a  careful  ex- 
amination of  the  result  of  their  labors,  the  bishops  approved 
the  new  hymnal,  which  was  published  by  the  Agents  of  the 
Book  Concern,  and  put  into  circulation  early  in  1878.  This 
is  the  hymnal  now  in  use  throughout  the  Church. 

A  few  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline;  and  several 
were  proposed,  which  were  not  enacted — among  them  the 
never-settled  method  of  appointing  the  presiding  elders. 
Many  were  still  in  favor  of  electing  presiding  elders  in  the 
several  annual  conferences  by  a  vote  of  the  preachers  on  the 
nomination  of  the  presiding  bishops.  Though  the  question 
had  come  up  in  the  General  Conference  at  every  session  from 
1804  to  1824,  yet  the  decisive  vote  of  1824  had  not  settled  it. 
The  matter  was  only  kept  in  abeyance.  Now  it  came  up  again, 
but  it  was  promptly  voted  down  as  before.  Ecclesiastical  con- 
servatism is  always  strong. 

It  was  made  the  duty  of  the  several  annual  conferences 
to  make  arrangements  for  raising  the  amount  apportioned  to 
them  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  General  Conference;  and 
it  was  recommended  to  them  to  require  all  candidates  for  the 
ministry  to  pledge  themselves  wholly  to  abstain  from  the  use  of 
tobacco.  A  form  of  constitution  for  Sunday-schools  was 
adopted,  the  international  series  of  Sunday-school  lessons  cor- 
dially approved,  and  new  conferences  authorized  to  be  formed. 
Mixed  conferences  of  white  and  colored  ministers  might, 
whenever  it  should  be  requested  by  a  majority  of  the  white 
members,  and  also  of  the  colored  members,  be  divided  into 
two  or  more  conferences. 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  appoint  a  commission  of 


1876.] 


The  General  Conference. 


195 


five  ministers  and  five  laymen  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
introducing  lay  delegation  into  the  annual  conferences,  and, 
if  they  deem  it  expedient,  to  report  a  plan  to  the  next  General 
Conference. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  plan  of  organi- 
zation for  the  next  General  Conference,  so  as  to  save  time 
in  the  appointment  and  organization  of  the  standing  commit- 
tees. A  committee  was  ordered  to  be  appointed  by  the  bish- 
ops to  consider  the  question  of  holding  an  ecumenical  con- 
ference of  Methodism,  and  arrange  for  the  same.  A  proposed 
change  in  the  ratio  of  representation  from  one  member  for 
forty-five  to  one  member  for  ninety-nine  was  ordered  to  be 
presented  to  the  annual  conferences  for  concurrence  at  their 
next  ensuing  sessions.  Some  new  advices  were  given  on  the. 
subject  of  temperance;  William  L.  Harris  was  appointed  editor 
of  the  new  Discipline;  and  the  Conference  adjourned,  after 
an  address  by  Bishop  Janes  and  religious  services,  on  the  31st 
day  of  May. 


1880. 


n^HE  eighteenth  delegated  General  Conference  met  in  Pike's 
Opera  House,  in  Cincinnati,  May  1st.  This  was  the 
only  available  place  suitable  for  holding  the  Conference,  as 
none  of  the  churches  was  large  enough.  Ninety-five  annual 
conferences  were  represented;  and  the  whole  number  of  dele- 
gates was  three  hundred  and  ninety-nine,  of  which  number  one 
hundred  and  fifty-one  were  laymen.  George  W.  Woodruff  was 
elected  secretary  by  acclamation,  and  he  was  granted  permis- 
sion to  name  his  own  assistants.  He  nominated  David  S.  Mon- 
roe, Central  Pennsylvania;  Isaac  S.  Bingham,  Northern  New 
York;  Lew  E.  Darrow,  Des  Moines;  George  Mather,  North 
Ohio;  Henry  B.  Heacock,  California,  and  James  P.  Magee, 
New  England;  and  they  were  confirmed  by  the  Conference. 
Later  in  the  session,  James  N.  FitzGerald  was  added  to  the 
list.  The  committee  ordered  just  at  the  close  of  the  last 
General  Conference  on  an  Ecclesiastical  Code  submitted  to  the 
present  General  Conference  a  report  for  consideration  and 
adoption.  The  report  was  received  and  on  motion  was  made 
the  order  of  the  day  for  Friday,  May  7th,  at  ten  o'clock,  A.  M. ; 
but  this  motion  was  afterward  reconsidered,  and  laid  on  the 
table.  A  new  committee  was  then  appointed,  consisting  of 
eleven  persons,  three  of  whom  were  bishops,  to  prepare  a  re- 
port on  the  code. 

The  Quadrennial  Address  of  the  Bishops  was  read  by  Bishop 
Simpson,  and  five  thousand  copies  were  ordered  to  be  printed 
in  pamphlet  form  for  general  circulation.  The  several  por- 
tions and  recommendations  of  the  Address  were  referred  to 
the  appropriate  committees,  which  were  appointed. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  Conference,  Dr.  John  R. 
Goodwin,  a  lay  delegate  from  the  Southeastern  Indiana  Con- 
ference, was  called  to  his  home  in  Brookville,  Ind.,  and  while 
there  was  killed  by  a  maniac  brother.  His  death  was  an- 
nounced on  Tuesday  morning,  May  4th,  in  the  Conference, 
and  a  committee  of  four  lay  members  was  appointed  to  attend 
his  funeral.    A  committee  of  five  was  also  appointed  to  pre- 

196 


1880.] 


The  General  Conference. 


L97 


pare  suitable  resolutions  of  sympathy  and  respect  upon  this 
sad  occasion. 

A  committee  was  appointed  on  the  Centennial  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  brought 
in  a  report  recommending  its  observance,  and  suggesting  va- 
rious objects  for  the  centennial  gifts  of  the  Church;  but  as 
a  substitute  for  the  whole  report,  the  bishops  were  requested 
to  devise  a  plan  for  the  centennial  year,  and  report  to  the 
Church  as  early  as  convenient. 

A  committee  on  the  reception  of  fraternal  delegates  was 
appointed;  and  it  was  determined  that  their  addresses  and 
credentials  should  be  presented  at  St.  Paul  Church,  corner 
of  Smith  and  Seventh  Streets,  only  in  the  evenings,  as  might 
be  arranged  for  by  the  committee.  The  following  fraternal 
delegates  were  introduced  to  the  Conference:  From  the  Brit- 
ish Conference,  "William  Arthur  and  Frederick  W.  Macdonald; 
Irish  Conference,  Wallace  McMullen;  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  Atticus  G.  Haygood,  James  H.  Carlisle;  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States,  John  Jones;  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Canada,  E.  B.  Eyckman  and  Bidwell 
Lane;  Reformed  Episcopal  Church,  Bishop  Samuel  Fallows; 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  B.  F.  Lee,  R.  A.  John- 
son, and  J.  G.  Mitchell;  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  J.  J. 
Smith;  General  Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Association, 
Elias  Kiplinger.  Addresses  were  made  by  the  fraternal  dele- 
gates, according  to  the  arrangement,  in  the  evenings,  so  that 
the  work  of  the  Conference  was  not  interrupted.  Greetings 
were  also  received  from  the  National  Council  of  the  Congre- 
gational Churches  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  four  years  immediately  preceding  this  session 
of  the  General  Conference,  Bishops  Janes,  Ames,  and  Haven 
were  all  called  to  their  eternal  reward.  Bishop  Janes  died  Sep- 
tember 18,  1876;  Bishop  Ames  died  April  25,  1879,  and  Bishop 
Haven,  January  3,  1880.  Besides  these  eminent  servants  of 
the  Church,  the  senior  Book  Agent  in  New  York,  Reuben 
Nelson,  died,  February  20,  1879;  and  the  senior  Secretary  of 
the  Missionary  Society,  Robert  L.  Dashiell,  died  March  8,  1880. 
Memorial  services  were  held  on  May  18th,  at  which  Cyrus  D. 
Foss  read  the  memoir  of  Bishop  Janes,  Charles  H.  Fowler  that 


198 


The  General  Conference. 


[1880. 


of  Bishop  Ames,  and  Willard  F.  Mallalieu  that  of  Bishop  Haven. 
Dr.  Daniel  Curry  made  a  brief  address  concerning  Reuben 
Nelson,  and  suggested  that  some  one  more  familiar  with  his 
life  be  appointed  to  write  a  memoir.  David  Copeland  was 
appointed,  and  subsequently  presented  a  memoir  which  is 
printed  with  the  Journal.  The  memoir  of  Dr.  Dashiell  was 
read  by  John  M.  Reid.  A  minute  was  also  adopted  in  reference 
to  the  death  of  John  R.  Goodwin. 

Besides  the  usual  standing  committees,  special  committees 
were  appointed  on  Expenses  of  Delegates,  American  Bible  So- 
ciety, Fraternal  Correspondence,  Temporal  Economy,  and 
other  matters  as  need  required. 

Reports  were  received  from  the  fraternal  delegates  sent 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1876  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  to  the  Wesleyan  Connection  of  America,  to 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church,  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  to  the  Evangelical  Association,  and  to  the  Re- 
formed Episcopal  Church. 

Miss  Frances  E.  Willard,  president  of  the  Woman's  National 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  came  as  a  fraternal  visitor  from 
that  society,  and  a  resolution  was  offered  that  she  be  invited 
to  address  the  Conference  for  ten  minutes.  It  was  moved  to 
amend  this  motion  by  extending  the  same  courtesy  to  all  other 
ladies  desiring  to  address  the  Conference.  Much  time  was 
spent  in  the  discussion  of  these  motions,  and  the  vote  was 
finally  taken  on  the  amendment,  by  yeas  and  nays;  two  hun- 
dred and  fourteen  voting  for  the  motion  and  one  hundred 
and  eighteen  against.  The  next  day  Miss  Willard  sent  a  note 
to  the  Conference,  presenting  her  "hearty  thanks  for  the  final 
vote,"  but  declining  "to  use  the  hard-earned  ten  minutes  al- 
lotted" to  her. 

Three  of  the  bishops  having  died,  and  Bishop  Scott  being 
relieved  of  all  episcopal  work  on  account  of  feeble  health,  it 
was  determined  that  the  Episcopacy  should  be  strengthened 
by  the  election  of  four  additional  bishops.  On  the  first  ballot 
Henry  White  Warren,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference;  Cyrus 
David  Foss,  of  the  New  York  Conference,  and  John  Fletcher 
Hurst,  of  the  Newark  Conference,  were  elected;  and  on  the 


1880.] 


The  General  Conference. 


199 


second  ballot  Erastus  Otis  Haven  was  elected.  The  consecra- 
tion took  place  on  Wednesday  morning,  May  19th.  The 
Committee  on  Episcopacy  reported,  recommending  that,  in 
addition  to  the  number  of  those  now  ordained,  one  bishop  of 
African  descent  be  elected,  expressing  their  belief  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  Church  in  general  and  of  the  colored 
people  in  particular  required  this.  A  minority  of  the  com- 
mittee presented  an  adverse  report.  One  or  two  of  the  col- 
ored delegates  spoke  eloquently  in  behalf  of  a  colored  bishop; 
but  it  was  not  thought  best  to  elect  any  more  bishops,  and 
the  whole  subject  was  indefinitely  postponed  by  a  vote  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven. 

The  Committee  on  the  Ecclesiastical  Code  brought  in  its 
report,  which,  with  a  few  amendments,  was  adoptetd.  All  the 
items  of  this  report  appear  in  their  proper  place  in  the  Dis- 
cipline for  1880,  which  Bishop  Harris  was  appointed  to  edit. 
The  Conference  requested  him  to  prepare  a  form  of  charges 
against  an  accused  member,  to  be  inserted  in  the  Appendix. 
This  was  done,  and  the  form  thus  prepared  appears  as  re- 
quested. 

The  Committee  on  Lay  Representation  in  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences presented  a  report  favoring  such  representation,  and 
suggesting  a  method  of  electing  lay  delegates,  and  their  ratio 
in  the  several  presiding  elders'  districts.  To  this  report  one 
or  two  amendments  were  offered;  but.  on  motion  the  whole 
subject  was  laid  on  the  table  by  a  vote  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  to  one  hundred  and  forty. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1876  a  committee  on  the 
subject  of  holding  an  ecumenical  conference  of  Methodism 
was  appointed,  to  report  to  this  Conference.  A  report  was  pre- 
sented, accordingly,  embodying  the  action  of  a  joint  committee 
from  the  various  branches  of  Methodism,  and  suggesting  the 
various  topics  for  consideration  at  such  a  conference.  The 
report  was  adopted,  and  Augustus  C.  George  and  Clinton  B. 
Fisk  were  appointed  members  of  the  executive  committee  on 
behalf  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Among  the  rules  for  the  reception  of  preachers  into  full 
connection  in  the  ministry,  an  additional  question  to  be  asked 
was  inserted:  "Will  you  wholly  abstain  from  the  use  of  to- 


200 


The  General  Conference. 


[1880. 


bacco?"  This  question  was  heretofore  asked  only  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  annual  conferences,  which  might  exclude  a  can- 
didate from  the  ministry  on  account  of  his  using  tobacco;  now 
it  was  made  binding  in  all  the  conferences.  In  the  earlier 
days  of  our  Church  history  nearly  all  of  our  preachers  as  well 
as  laymen  were  addicted  to  the  use  of  this  narcotic;  but  the 
general  rule  on  "needless  self-indulgence"  began  to  gain  a 
wider  application,  and  many,  both  preachers  and  laymen,  felt 
that  the  use  of  tobacco  was  inconsistent  with  the  rule,  and 
hence  the  quickened  conscience  of  the  Church  on  the  subject. 

The  annual  conferences  were  empowered  to  have  their 
minutes  printed  and  bound,  and  if  duly  certified  by  the  secre- 
tary, such  copy  shall  be  considered  official.  Xo  annual  con- 
ference other  than  in  foreign  mission  fields  was  allowed  to  be 
organized  with  less  than  fifteen  effective  members. 

The  Pacific  Christian  Advocate  was  discontinued  as  a  Gen- 
eral Conference  paper,  and  the  Agents  were  directed  to  make 
over  and  release  to  the  publishing  committee  of  that  paper  all 
their  right,  title,  and  interest  in  the  same.  They  were  also  di- 
rected to  pay  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  towards  the  debt  of 
the  paper,  provided  that  this  amount  shall  release  them  from 
any  further  obligations.  The  California  Christian  Advocate 
was  ordered  to  be  continued,  and  one  thousand  dollars  per  an- 
num appropriated  to  aid  in  its  publication.  Its  present  debts 
were  also  to  be  paid. 

Bishop  Scott  was  released  from  episcopal  duties,  and  made 
non-effective.  For  the  better  diffusion  of  information  con- 
cerning the  benevolent  work  of  the  Church,  the  Agents  in 
Xew  York  were  directed  to  publish  a  Church  manual,  either 
monthly  or  quarterly,  to  be  sent  to  all  our  traveling  preachers 
and  to  such  others  as  may  subscribe  for  the  same.  And  the  sec- 
retaries of  the  various  societies  and  boards  of  the  Church  were 
constituted  a  Committee  of  Publication,  to  furnish  for  each 
issue  four  pages  of  matter  concerning  their  special  department 
of  work. 

The  Italian  Mission  was  granted  permission  to  organize  an 
annual  conference  in  Italy;  but  the  formation  of  independ- 
ent Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  in  Europe  and  Asia  was 
considered  premature.     The  residences  of  the  bishops  were 


1880.J 


The  General  Conference. 


201 


determined,  to  be  selected  by  the  bishops  according  to  senior- 
ity in  office.  It  was  recommended  that  all  the  foreign  missions 
be  visited  twice  by  the  bishops  during  the  next  quadrennium. 
The  trustees  of  the  Minard  Home  were  granted  permission  to 
use  or  dispose  of  the  property  as  they  think  best,  and  report 
to  the  next  General  Conference.  The  Home  had  no  endow- 
ment to  sustain  it,  and  had  so  failed  of  the  object  for  which 
it  had  been  given  to  the  Church.  The  official  papers  of  the 
Church  were  directed  to  print  missionary  intelligence,  to  be 
furnished  by  the  Missionary  Secretaries.  The  National  Re- 
pository and  the  Golden  Hours  were  ordered  to  be  discontinued 
at  the  end  of  the  current  year,  for  failure  of  support.  An 
episcopal  ruling  that  the  Discipline  provides  neither  for  the 
ordaining  nor  licensing  of  women  as  local  preachers  was  ap- 
proved; but  it  was  ordered  that  the  masculine  pronouns  "he," 
"his,"  and  "him,"  wherever  they  occur  in  the  Discipline,  shall 
not  be  construed  as  excluding  women  from  the  office  of  Sun- 
day-school superintendent,  class  leader,  or  steward. 

A  few  minor  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline,  and 
the  constitutions  of  some  of  the  Church  societies  were  revised. 

Juvenile  temperance  societies  were  allowed  to  be  formed 
in  all  our  Sunday-schools,  and  the  temperance  work  of  the 
women  gratefully  recognized  and  heartily  commended. 

The  official  elections  in  the  Conference  were  as  follows: 
Book  Agents,  New  York,  John  M.  Phillips,  Sandford  Hunt; 
Cincinnati,  John  M.  Walden,  William  P.  Stowe.  Editors, 
Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  D.  D.  Whedon;  Christian  Advo- 
cate, James  M.  Buckley;  Sunday-school  Advocate  and  Publica- 
tions, John  H.  Vincent;  Northern  Christian  Advocate,  Orris  H. 
Warren;  Pittsburgh,  Alfred  Wheeler;  Western,  Francis  S. 
Hoyt;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast;  Haus  und  Herd, 
Henry  Liebhaft;  Northwestern  Christian  Advocate,  Arthur  Ed- 
wards; Central,  Benjamin  St.  J.  Fry;  California,  Benjamin  F. 
Crary;  Methodist  Advocate,  Erasmus  Q.  Fuller;  Southwestern, 
Joseph  C.  Hartzell.  Missionary  Secretaries,  John  M.  Reid, 
Charles  H.  Fowler;  Church  Extension,  Alpha  J.  Kynett;  Freed- 
men's  Aid,  Richard  S.  Rust. 

After  a  closing  address  by  Bishop  Simpson,  the  Conference 
adjourned  on  May  28th,  to  meet  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia, 
May  1,  1884. 


1884. 


T~N  1884  the  General  Conference  met  in  Philadelphia,  on 
Thursday,  May  1st.  The  sessions  were  held  in  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  Hall.  The  number  of  delegates 
was  four  hundred  and  seventeen,  of  whom  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  were  laymen.  During  the  preceding  quadrennium, 
Bishops  E.  0.  Haven,  Levi  Scott,  and  Jesse  T.  Peck  had  died. 
The  other  bishops  were  all  present,  and  Bishop  Simpson  pre- 
sided during  the  opening  exercises.  He  was  in  such  feeble 
health  that  he  was  not  able  to  remain;  nor  did  he  again  occupy 
the  chair  during  the  daily  sessions  for  the  transaction  of 
business.  David  S.  Monroe  was  elected  secretary  by  acclama- 
tion, and  was  granted  xthe  privilege  of  nominating  his  assist- 
ants. The  following  persons  were  named,  and  they  were 
elected:  T.  S.  Bingham,  J.  X.  FitzGerald,  C.  J.  Clark,  Sabin 
Halsey,  G.  S.  Clapp,  C.  J.  Howes,  M.  S.  Hard,  W.  H.  Crogman, 
and  Jacob  TVemli. 

The  Conference  was  welcomed  on  behalf  of  the  ministers 
and  citizens  of  Philadelphia  by  Andrew  Longacre,  and  on 
behalf  of  the  commonwealth  by  Eobert  E.  Pattison,  governor 
of  the  state.  Rules  of  order  were  adopted,  and  the  secretaries 
and  Book  Agents  were  authorized  to  publish  the  same  in  a 
manual,  to  contain  also  the  list  of  delegates  and  reserves,  and 
a  general  directory  of  the  hosts  and  places  of  entertainment 
of  the  members,  with  a  diagram  of  the  hall,  and  other  mat- 
ters usually  included  in  such  a  manual. 

Twelve  standing  committees  were  appointed  on  the  usual 
topics  for  consideration,  and  special  committees  on  the  Cen- 
tennial of  1884  and  the  Ecumenical  Conference  (to  be  held, 
if  possible,  in  1887);  Lay  Representation  (in  the  annual  con- 
ferences, and  equal  representation  in  the  General  Conference); 
Temperance  and  Constitutional  Prohibition;  Co-operation  in 
Church  Work;  Plan  of  General  Conference  Districts;  Ju- 
diciary; American  Bible  Society;  Nomination  of  Trustees  for 
Church  Institutions;  Form  of  Statistics;  Entertainment  of 
Next  General  Conference;  Tenure  of  Church  Property;  Recep- 

202 


1884.] 


The  General  Conference. 


208 


tion  of  Fraternal  Delegates,  and  Fraternal  Correspondence; 
Expenses  of  Delegates;  Report  of  Trustees  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  and  their  Treasurer;  Rules  of  Order;  To 
fix  Time  and  Place  for  Consecration  Services;  and  on  Char- 
tered Fund. 

The  Quadrennial  Address  of-  the  Bishops  was  read  by 
Bishop  Harris,  and  the  Conference  ordered  that  it  be  published 
in  the  Church  papers,  and  five  thousand  copies  be  printed  in 
pamphlet  form  for  gratuitous  distribution. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Hon.  S.  D.  Waddy,  Q.  C,  London, 
England,  a  Bible,  the  property  of  John  Wesley,  was  presented 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  Bible  was  used  at 
the  opening  service  of  the  General  Conference;  and  a  commit- 
tee, consisting  of  Bishops  Simpson  and  Harris,  Arthur  Ed- 
wards, and  G.  G.  Reynolds,  addressed,  by  order  of  the  Con- 
ference, a  letter  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Waddy  for  his  valuable  and 
interesting  gift.  The  Bible  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
bishops,  by  them  to  be  sacredly  preserved  and  brought  to 
each  succeeding  General  Conference,  to  be  used  in  the  de- 
votional services  and  in  the  consecration  of  bishops.  R.  W. 
Todd,  of  the  Wilmington  Conference,  sent  a  bust  of  John 
Wesley,  belonging  to  Mrs.  Catherine  Blake,  of  North  East, 
Md.,  for  exhibition  to  the  Conference.  He  had  been  unable 
to  secure  it  from  the  family  owning  it  for  the  Wilmington 
Conference  Historical  Society;  and  it  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  secretary,  to  be  returned  on  the  next  Friday, 
May  9th.  This  bust  was  an  original,  and  was  obtained  by 
the  owner's  grandfather  in  Baltimore  in  1810. 

The  report  of  the  committee  of  the  first  Ecumenical  Con- 
ference, held  in  London  in  1881,  was  presented  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  the  Centennial  of  1884  and  the  Ecu- 
menical Conference  of  1887.  This  report  thus  referred  recom- 
mended the  holding  of  a  second  Ecumenical  Conference  in 
the  United  States  in  1887,  and  the  appointment  of  an  execu- 
tive committee,  to  determine  the  time  and  place  for  the  same, 
the  number  of  delegates,  and  the  ratio  of  their  distribution 
among  the  various  Methodist  bodies,  to  prepare  a  program  of 
exercises,  etc.  The  committee  on  this  subject  approved  of  the 
project,  and  reported  favorably. 


204 


The  General  Conference.  [1884. 


Memorial  services  were  arranged  for  and  held  on  Tues- 
day morning,  May  13th,  in  honor  of  the  deceased  bishops 
and  official  members  of  the  last  General  Conference  who  had 
died  in  the  interim — George  W,  Woodruff  and  Erasmus  Q. 
Fuller.  The  memoir  of  Bishop  Scott  was  read  by  J.  B. 
Quigg;  that  of  Bishop  Peck  by  C.  X.  Sims,  and  of  Bishop 
Haven  by  J.  M.  Buckley.  Memorial  notices  of  Erasmus  Q. 
Fuller  and  George  W.  Woodruff  were  read  by  J.  J.  Manker 
and  B.  M.  Adams,  respectively.  The  memoirs  were  adopted 
by  a  rising  vote,  and  are  printed  in  the  J ournal. 

Fraternal  messengers  from  other  religious  bodies  were  re- 
ceived, as  follows:  Robert  Xewton  Young  and  Sylvester 
Whitehead,  from  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference;  Jean 
Paul  Cook,  from  the  Evangelical  Methodist  Church  of 
France  and  Switzerland:  Charles  W.  Carter  and  A.  H.  Col- 
quitt, from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  Samuel  S. 
Xelles  and  Isaac  B.  Aylesworth,  from  the  Methodist  Church 
in  Canada;  and  Jeremiah  E.  Rankin,  from  the  Xational 
Council  of  the  Congregational  Churches  of  the  United  States. 
An  address  was  received  and  read  from  the  Irish  Methodist 
Conference;  and  telegrams  and  greetings  came  from  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Saratoga,  X.  Y.; 
the  Baptist  National  Societies,  Detroit;  from  Charles  Edward 
Cheney,  the  fraternal  delegate  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal 
Church,  unable  to  be  present;  from  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Zion  Church,  Philadelphia;  and  from  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  McKees- 
port,  Pa. 

Reports  were  made  by  the  fraternal  delegates  sent  by  the 
General  Conference:  William  F.  Warren,  to  the  WTesleyan  Con- 
ferences in  England  and  Ireland;  H.  B.  Ridgaway,  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  and  W.  S.  Studley,  to 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada.  Fraternal  greetings  were 
sent  from  the  General  Conference  to  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  the  Southern  Baptist  Church,  the  Re- 
formed German  Church,  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Zion  Church,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Cumberland  Pres- 
byterian Church,  all  of  which  were  holding  their  sessions. 


1884.] 


The  General  Conference. 


205 


The  Committee  on  Episcopacy  reported  in  favor  of  the  elec- 
tion of  four  additional  bishops,  and  their  report  was  adopted. 
The  Conference  therefore  proceeded  to  vote  for  bishops,  and 
on  the  first  ballot  there  was  no  election.  On  the  second  ballot, 
William  Xavier  Ninde  and  John  Morgan  Walden  were 
chosen;  on  the  third  ballot,  Willard  Francis  Mallalieu;  and 
on  the  last  ballot,  Charles  Henry  Fowler.  The  '  committee 
also  recommended  the  election  of  a  bishop  for  Africa;  and 
the  Conference  ordered  that  one  should  be  elected.  When 
the  ballot  was  taken,  William  Taylor  received  two  hundred 
and  fifty  votes  out  of  three  hundred  and  fifty-three,  and  was 
elected.  The  consecration  of  the  bishops-elect  took  place  on 
Thursday  morning,  May  22d. 

The  other  elections  in  the  General  Conference  resulted  as 
follows:  Book  Agents,  New  York,  John  M.  Phillips,  Sanford 
Hunt;  Cincinnati,  Earl  Cranston,  William  P.  Stowe.  Editors, 
Methodist  Review  and  Books,  Daniel  Curry;  Christian  Advocate, 
James  M.  Buckley;  Western  Christian  Advocate,  Jeremiah  H. 
Bayliss;  Northwestern,  Arthur  Edwards;  Central,  Benj.  St. 
James  Fry;  Pittsburgh,  Charles  W.  Smith;  Northern,  Orris  H. 
W^arren;  California,  Benjamin  F.  Crary;  Southwestern,  Mar- 
shall W.  Taylor;  Christliche  Apologete,  William  Nast;  Ilaus 
und  Herd,  Henry  Liebhart;  Sunday-school  Publications  and 
Books,  John  H.  Vincent.  Corresponding  Secretaries,  Mission- 
ary Society,  John  M.  Keid,  Charles  C.  McCabe;  Board  of 
Church  Extension,  Alpha  J.  Kynett;  Freedmen's  Aid  Society, 
Eichard  S.  Kust. 

The  bishops  were  instructed  to  submit  to  the  annual  con- 
ferences, during  the  year  1887,  a  proposal  to  change  the  ratio 
of  representation  from  one  ministerial  delegate  for  every  forty- 
five  members  of  the  annual  conference  to  one  for  every  ninety. 

The  secretary  was  instructed  to  have  the  Journal  of  the 
General  Conference  printed  and  bound,  and  by  him  certified 
to  be  correct;  and  when  so  done,  the  printed  copy  should  be 
the  official  Journal.  Bishop  Harris  was  appointed  to  edit  the 
Discipline  for  this  year;  and  the  editors  of  the  Christliche 
Apologete  and  the  Haus  und  Herd  were  appointed  to  edit  the 
German  translation  of  the  same. 

Foreign  conferences  were  granted  the  same  privileges  and 


206 


The  General  Conference, 


[1884. 


rights  as  those  possessed  by  conferences  in  the  United  States. 
The  annual  conferences  were  instructed  to  direct  their  edu- 
cational efforts  during  the  present  centennial  year  to  the  re- 
lief of  literary  institutions  under  their  care,  which  are  em- 
barrassed by  debt,  or  are  inadequately  endowed.  Surplus  files 
of  our  Church  papers  were  allowed  to  be  given  by  the  Book 
Agents  to  Methodist  Historical  Societies  organized  by  the 
conferences,  and  to  our  theological  seminaries,  universities, 
and  colleges,  for  preservation  in  their  libraries.  Certificates 
of  Church  membership  were  made  good  for  only  one  year  from 
their  date,  though  if  a  member  find  it  impracticable  to  present 
the  certificate  within  that  time,  the  preacher  in  charge  of  the 
Church  from  which  it  was  received  may  renew  it.  A  Sunday- 
school  hymnal  was  ordered,  such  as  would  be  the  most  likely 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  Sunday-school,  social  and  re- 
ligious meetings,  and  revivals;  more  books  for  Sunday-school 
libraries,  under  the  editorship  of  the  Sunday-school  depart- 
ment, were  ordered  to  be  published  ;  and  it  was  recommended 
that  the  Bible  be  used  in  our  Sunday-school  classes  instead 
of  the  lesson-books  or  leaves.  A  commission,  consisting  of 
one  from  every  General  Conference  District  and  one  at  large, 
was  ordered  to  be  appointed,  to  take  into  consideration  the 
whole  subject  of  representation,  and  report  to  the  next  Gen- 
eral Conference.  A  commission  was  also  ordered  to  consider 
the  subject  of  the  consolidation  and  unifying  of  our  benevo- 
lent societies,  and  report  as  above.  The  commission  was  to 
consist  of  one  bishop,  the  representatives  of  the  mission  dis- 
tricts in  the  General  Mission  Committee,  and  one  secretary 
from  the  Missionary,  Church  Extension,  Freedmen's  Aid,  and 
Educational  Societies.  In  the  licensing  of  local  preachers, 
the  district  conferences  were  directed  to  inquire  of  the  can- 
didates if  they  will  wholly  abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco. 
The  quarterly  conferences  were  authorized  to  organize  in  every 
Church  an  Official  Board,  to  be  composed  of  all  the  members 
of  the  quarterly  conference,  including  all  the  trustees  and 
Sunday-school  superintendents  who  are  members  of  the  Church. 
The  Official  Board,  so  organized,  were  to  discharge  the  duties 
belonging  to  the  leaders  and  stewards'  meetings,  except  cer- 
tain duties  specially  assigned  to  them.     The  Book  Agents 


1884.]  The  General  Conference.  207 


were  empowered  to  provide  for  the  sale  and  distribution  of  our 
publications  at  Kansas  City  as  soon  as  judicious  arrangements 
could  be  made.  The  rule  directing  a  preacher  to  take  no  step 
toward  marriage  without  first  advising  with  his  brethren  was 
stricken  out  of  the  Discipline.  No  divorce,  except  for  the  cause 
of  adultery,  was  to  be  regarded  by  the  Church  as  lawful.  Min- 
isters were  forbidden  to  marry  any  parties  together  where  there 
is  a  divorced  wife  or  husband  living,  though  this  rule  was  not 
to  apply  in  the  case  of  an  innocent  party  to  the  divorce. 

The  possible  number  of  stewards  in  a  charge  was  increased 
from  nine  to  thirteen.  The  Woman's  Home  Missionary  Society, 
founded  by  a  number  of  godly  women  of  the  Church  in  Cin- 
cinnati in  1880,  was  recognized  by  the  Conference.  Its  Con- 
stitution, as  well  as  the  Constitution  of  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  were  ordered  to  be  printed  with  the  J ournal, 
and  the  General  Conference  was  authorized  to  change  or  amend 
these  Constitutions.  The  Managers  of  the  Missionary  Society 
were  instructed  to  consider  the  importance  and  advantage  of 
publishing  a  magazine  devoted  exclusively  to  the  dissemina- 
tion of  missionary  literature;  and  the  bishops  were  requested 
to  insert  in  the  courses  of  reading  for  traveling  and  local 
preachers  some  books  on  missionary  topics. 

Library  associations  were  recommended  to  be  formed  in 
every  charge,  and  a  form  of  Constitution  was  suggested,  to 
be  placed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline.  The  annual  con- 
ferences were  requested  to  form  historical  societies,  to  collect 
and  preserve  all  facts,  documents,  relics,  and  reminiscences  re- 
lating to  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  Church.  As  this"  was 
the  centennial  year  of  the  founding  of  the  Church,  the  pastors 
were  directed  to  see  that  an  outline  history  of  every  charge 
be  prepared,  furnishing  the  date  of  origin,  names  of  founders 
and  of  succeeding  leading  members,  characteristic  events,  etc., 
the  same  to  be  preserved  with  the  Church  records. 

A  few  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline;  New  York 
City  was  selected  as  the  place  for  holding  the  next  session  of 
the  Conference;  Bishop  Simpson  made  a  brief  closing  address, 
full  of  hopefulness  for  the  Church;  and  the  Conference  ad- 
journed on  Wednesday,  May  28th. 


1888. 


r  I  M1EEE  were  one  hundred  and  eleven  conferences  repre- 
sented  in  the  General  Conference  of  1888,  which  met 
in  the  city  of  New  York  on  Tuesday,  May  1st.  The  sessions 
were  held  in  the  Metropolitan  Opera  House;  and  there  were 
two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  clerical  and  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  lay  delegates  elected.  As  soon  as  the  preliminary 
exercises  were  concluded,  Bishop  Bowman  read  a  paper  stating 
that  certain  persons  had  been  elected  as  lay  delegates  which 
the  Church  had  never  recognized  as  eligible,  and  for  that  rea- 
son their  names  had,  by  the  authority  of  the  bishops,  been 
omitted  from  the  roll,  which  was  now  about  to  be  called.  The 
bishops,  however,  had  no  jurisdiction,  he  said,  in  the  matter 
of  the  eligibility  of  the  persons  in  question,  and  the  General 
Conference  can  only  exercise  this  jurisdiction  when  duly  or- 
ganized. These  ^delegates-elect  can  not,  therefore,  assist  in 
the  organization.  The  persons  to  whom  the  bishop  alluded 
were  Amanda  C.  Bippey,  Kansas  Conference;  Mary  C.  Kind, 
Minnesota;  Angie  (Angeline)  F.  Xewman,  Nebraska;  Lizzie 
(Elizabeth)  D.  Van  Kirk,  Pittsburgh ;  Frances  E.  Willard,  Eock 
Biver;  John  M.  Phillips,  Mexico  (a  non-resident);  Eobert  E. 
Pattison,  North  India  (non-resident);  and  John  E.  Eickards, 
Montana  (irregularly  elected).  The  roll  was  then  called  by 
David  S.  Monroe,  who  was  immediately  elected  secretary  by 
acclamation.  Sabin  Halsey,  Charles  J.  Clark,  Manley  S.  Hard, 
William  H.  Crogman,  Jacob  Wernli,  William  S.  Urmey,  A.  C. 
Crosthwaite,  and  Eobert  E.  Doherty  were,  upon  the  secretary's 
nomination,  elected  assistants.  C.  J.  Clark  died  suddenly  at 
1.15  o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoon,  May  6th,  and  Leavitt  Bates, 
a.  lay  delegate  from  the  New  England  Southern  Conference, 
died  on  the  same  day  at  5.45  P.  M.  Committees  were  appointed 
to  prepare  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sympathy  of  the  Con- 
ference, which  reported  on  Tuesday  morning,  May  8th.  Bert 
E.  Wheeler,  Carlton  E.  Wilbor  and  Ernest  A.  Simons  were 
elected  additional  secretaries. 

208 


1888.]  The  General  Conference.  209 


Two  committees  were  appointed,  on  the  Eligibility  of  Women 
to  Sit  as  Delegates,  and  on  the  Eligibility  of  Non-resident  and 
Other  Delegates.  The  first  committee  reported  that  under  the 
Constitution  and  laws  of  the  Church,  as  they  now  are,  women 
are  not  eligible  as  lay  delegates.  The  report  was  adopted  by 
a  vote  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight.  On  motion  of  James  M.  Buckley,  the  expenses 
of  these  persons,  in  coming  to,  remaining  at,  and  returning  to 
their  homes,  were  ordered  to  be  paid  from  the  funds  at  the 
disposal  of  the  General  Conference  for  the  expenses  of  dele- 
gates. The  Committee  on  the  Eligibility  of  Other  Lay  Delegates 
reported  in  favor  of  seating  John  M.  Phillips  and  Robert  E. 
Pattison;  but  a  minority  of  the  committee  reported  adversely. 
The  minority  report  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  three  hundred 
and  three  for,  to  one  hundred  and  sixteen  against.  The  mi- 
nority of  the  committee  also  reported  against  the  seating  of 
J.  E.  Eickards  from  Montana,  as  having  been  elected  by  a  lay 
electoral  conference  called  together  three  months  after  the 
regular  session  of  the  annual  conference;  and  their  report  was 
adopted.  His  expenses  were  ordered  to  be  paid  up  to  the  date 
of  the  report,  May  9th. 

The  Quadrennial  Address  of  the  Bishops  was  read  by  Bishop 
Merrill,  and  was  ordered  to  be  published  in  the  Daily  Advocate 
and  the  official  papers,  and  in  the  General  Conference  Manual, 
to  contain  names  of  delegates,  etc.  The  usual  standing  com- 
mittees were  ordered,  and  special  committees  were  appointed  on 
Temperance,  Consolidation  of  Church  Benevolences,  Arranging 
General  "Conference  Districts,  Support  of  Superannuated 
Preachers,  Judiciary,  American  Bible  Society,  Ecumenical  Con- 
ference, Constitutional  Commission,  and  on  other  matters  as 
they  came  up. 

During  the  preceding  quadrennium,  Bishops  Simpson, 
Wiley,  and  Harris  had  died,  and  Editors  Daniel  Curry  and 
Marshall  W.  Taylor.  Memorial  services  were  held  in  their 
honor  on  May  16th.  Jacob  Todd  read  a  memoir  of  Bishop 
Simpson,  Isaac  W.  Joyce  of  Bishop  Wiley,  and  William  F. 
Whitlock  of  Bishop  Harris.  Joseph  Pullman  read  a  memoir 
of  Daniel  Curry,  and  E.  W.  S.  Hammond  of  M.  W.  Taylor. 
Memorial  notices  were  also  read  of  Daniel  D.  Whedon  by  J.  M. 
14 


210 


The  General  Conference. 


[1888. 


Buckley,  and  of  Eobert  W.  C.  Farnsworth,  elected  a  delegate 
to  this  Conference,  by  J.  B.  Green. 

Fraternal  delegates  were  received  as  follows:  Charles  H. 
Kelly  from  the  British  Conference,  and  Wesley  Guard  from 
the  Irish  Conference,  on  Tuesday  evening,  May  15th;  S.  A. 
Steel  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;  E.  A. 
Stafford  from  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada,  and  J.  T. 
Whiteman  from  the  Maryland  Association  of  Independent 
Methodist  Churches,  on  Thursday  evening,  May  17th;  and  C.  T. 
Shaffer  from  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  cn 
"Wednesday  morning,  May  30th. 

Reports  were  made  by  the  fraternal  messengers  sent  by  this 
Conference  to  other  religious  bodies,  as  follows:  Cyrus  D.  Foss 
and  Albert  S.  Hunt,  sent  to  the  British  Conference  and  to 
the  Irish  Methodist  Conference;  John  Miley,  sent  to  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South;  Isaac  TT.  Joyce,  sent  to  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  Canada;  and 
from  Aristides  E.  P.  Albert,  sent  to  the  African  Methodist 
Episcopal  Zion  General  Conference,  and  Joshua  E.  "Wilson, 
sent  to  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

A  fraternal  communication  was  received  from  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  and  greetings  were  sent  to 
and  received  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  an  address  from  the  Xational  Association  of  Local 
Preachers. 

Much  time  was  given  to  the  discussion  of  the  "woman 
question/*'  and  a  number  of  resolutions  were  introduced;  but 
the  only  action  taken  was  that  contained  in  a  report  from  the 
Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Church.  The  report  was 
adopted,  and  it  was  ordered  that  in  the  month  of  October 
or  ISTovember,  1890,  the  question  of  the  eligibility  of  women 
as  lay  delegates  in  the  electoral  and  General  Conferences 
should  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  members  of  the  Church. 
The  ballots  were  directed  to  be  in  the  following  form:  "For 
the  Admission  of  Women  as  Lay  Delegates,''  and  "Against 
the  Admission  of  Women  as  Lay  Delegates."  The  method  of 
taking  the  vote  was  then  prescribed.  Also,  to  all  the  annual 
conferences  held  in  the  year  1891  the  same  proposition  should 
be  submitted  by  the  presiding  bishops;  and  the  result  of  both 


1888.]  The  General  Conference.  211 


the  lay  and  clerical  vote  should  be  certified  to  the  next  Gen- 
eral Conference. 

The  Committee  on  an  Ecumenical  Conference,  proposed 
to  be  held  in  the  United  States  in  the  year  1891,  reported, 
recommending  the  holding  of  the  Conference,  adopting  the 
range  of  subjects  presented  for  consideration  by  the  joint 
committees  of  the  several  Methodist  bodies  participating,  and 
suggesting  that  a  Committee  of  Arrangements,  to  consist  of 
three  bishops,  five  ministers,  and  five  laymen,  be  appointed  by 
the  bishops.  The  committee  also  recommended  that  each  an- 
nual conference  nominate,  before  July,  1890,  two  ministers 
and  two  laymen  for  membership  to  the  Ecumenical  Confer- 
ence, and  that  the  Commission  on  Organization  select  seven 
members  from  each  General  Conference  District  from  the  num-. 
ber  of  those  nominated,  and  distribute  additional  members 
from  among  those  nominated,  provided  that  each  annual  con- 
ference shall  not  have  more  than  two  representatives.  The 
report  was  adoptetd. 

The  Committee  on  Missions,  to  whom  were  referred  va- 
rious papers  relating  to  the  order  of  deaconesses,  reported 
in  favor  of  establishing  such  an  order  in  the  Church;  and  the 
report  was  adopted,  and  the  necessary  paragraphs  relating  to 
deaconesses  ordered  to  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline.  This 
class  of  workers  had  been  employed  by  our  missionaries  in 
Germany  with  great  success,  and  a  successful  beginning  had 
recently  been  made  in  the  same  direction  in  this  country. 
The  work  was  now  made  official,  and  deaconesses  were  author- 
ized to  be  employed  wherever  Providence  should  open  the 
way. 

It  was  resolved  that  five  additional  bishops  be  elected,  and 
a  missionary  bishop  for  India.  A  majority  of  two-thirds  of 
all  the  votes  cast  was  made  necessary  to  elect.  Sixteen  ballots 
were  cast,  on  the  third  of  which  John  Heyl  Vincent  and  James 
Newbury  FitzGerald  were  elected;  on  the  fifth,  Isaac  Wilson 
Joyce;  on  the  fourteenth,  John  Philip  Newman;  and  on  the 
sixteenth,  Daniel  Ayres  Goodsell.  For  missionary  bishop  of 
India  and  Malaysia  James  Mills  Thoburn  was  elected.  The 
consecration  services  were  held  on  Tuesday,  May  29th. 

The  Commission  on  Ministerial  and  Lay  Representation, 


212 


The  General  Conference. 


[1888. 


ordered  by  the  General  Conference  of  1881,  reported,  recom- 
mending that  a  vote  be  taken  in  the  annual  conferences  to 
change  the  Restrictive  Rule  so  that  the  number  of  lay  dele- 
gates in  every  conference  shall  be  equal  to  the  clerical  dele- 
gates; and,  if  carried  by  the  requisite  vote,  the  electoral  con- 
ferences of  1801-92  may  elect  representatives  equal  in  num- 
ber with  the  clerical,  and  the  General  Conference  of  1892  may 
provide  for  their  admission.  To  be  eligible  for  election,  a  lay- 
man must  have  his  residence  and  Church  membership  in  the 
bounds  of  the  conference  which  he  is  elected  to  represent,  for 
at  least  one  year  prior  to  the  date  of  his  election.  The  report 
was  adopted. 

During  this  session  of  the  General  Conference,  a  special 
committee  of  five  was  appointed  to  arrange  for  services  con- 
nected with  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  buildings 
for  the  use  of  the  Book  Concern  ands  the  Missionary  Society. 
The  property  purchased  for  this  purpose  is  on  the  corner  of 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Twentieth  Street.  The  time  fixed  upon 
by  the  committee  for  the  ceremony  was  Wednesday,  May  23d, 
at  four  o'clock  P.  M.  In  the  presence  of  a  large  congregation, 
and  with  the  forms  prescribed  in  the  Ritual,  Bishop  Bowman 
laid  the  corner-stone  in  place.  The  building  is  a  monument 
of  the  enterprise  and  faith  of  the  Church. 

The  pastoral  term  of  service  was  increased  to  five  years, 
and  that  of  presiding  elders  to  six  years.  Color  was  declared 
to  be  no  bar  to  any  right  or  privilege  of  office  or  membership 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  bishops  were  re- 
quested to  prepare  a  suitable  course  of  reading  for  class-lead- 
ers of  the  Church,  and  cause  the  same  to  be  printed  in  the 
Discipline.  And  they  were  also  requested  to  prepare  an 
Episcopal  Address  to  class-leaders  concerning  the  gravity  and 
responsibility  of  their  office,  to  be  printed  in  tract  form.  A 
commission  was  recommended,  to  be  appointed  by  the  bish- 
ops, on  Church  Fraternity  and  Organic  Tnion,  to  consist  of 
one  bishop,  one  member  of  an  annual  conference,  and  one  lay- 
man, to  report  to  the  next  General  Conference.  Japanese 
Methodist  Episcopal  Missions  were  authorized,  under  certain 
conditions,  to  unite  with  other  Methodisms  in  Japan,  in  order 
to  form  one  autonomous  Methodist  Church  in  that  Empire. 


1888.J 


The  General  Conference. 


213 


The  Liberia  Conference  was  authorized  to  include  the  whole 
of  Africa  within  its  "boundaries,  and  to  be  called  the  Africa 
Conference;  and  the  missionary  bishop  of  that  continent  was 
authorized  to  continue  his  efforts  to  extend  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  Africa  on  the  plan  of  self-supporting 
Missions.  Annual  conferences  were  allowed  to  be  formed  in 
South  America;  and  the  Portuguese  stations  in  northern 
Brazil  were  to  be  organized  into  a  mission. 

A  Commission  on  Education  was  appointed,  to  consider  the 
subject  of  reorganizing  the  educational  work  of  the  Church, 
to  report  at  the  next  General  Conference.  A  commission  was 
also  appointed  on  the  insurance  of  Church  property,  to  report 
as  above. 

The  elections  for  officials  of  the  General  Conference  resulted 
as  follows:  Book  Agents,  New  York,  John  M.  Phillips,  Sand- 
ford  Hunt;  Cincinnati,  Earl  Cranston,'  William  P.  Stowe. 
Editors,  Christian  Advocate,  J.  M.  Buckley;  Methodist  Review, 
James  W.  Mendenhall;  Western  Christian  Advocate,  J.  H. 
Bayliss;  'Northwestern,  Arthur  Edwards;  Central,  B.  St.  J.  Fry; 
Pittsburgh,  Charles  W.  Smith;  Northern,  0.  H.  Warren;  Cali- 
fornia, B.  F.  Crary;  Southwestern,  A.  E.  P.  Albert;  Methodist 
Advocate  (Atlanta  or  Chattanooga),  T.  C.  Carter;  Christliche 
Apologete,  William  Nast;  Ilaus  und  Herd,  Henry  Liebhart; 
Sunday-school  Advocate  and  other  Publications,  Jesse  L.  Hurl- 
but.  Secretaries,  Missionary  Society,  C.  C.  McCabe,  Jonas  0. 
Peck,  Adna  B.  Leonard;  Board  of  Church  Extension,  A.  J. 
Kynett;  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society, 
Joseph  C.  Hartzell;  Board  of  Education,  Charles  H.  Payne. 

The  secretary  was  directed  to  edit  the  Journal  for  publica- 
tion; and  the  printed  copy,  substantially  bound,  was  ordered 
to  be  the  official  journal.  Bishop  Merrill  was  appointed  to 
edit  the  Discipline  for  1888.  Omaha  was  selected  as  the  place 
for  holding  the  next  session  of  the  Conference,  and  the  assembly 
adjourned  on  Thursday,  May  31st. 


1892. 


TTX  1892  the  General  Conference  met  in  Omaha,  on  Monday, 
May  2d.  The  sessions  were  held  in  the  Exposition  Hall. 
There  were  three  hundred  and  fifteen  clerical  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty-nine  lay  delegates,  representing  one  hundred  and 
thirteen  annual  conferences.  David  S.  Monroe  was  elected 
secretary,  and  eighteen  assistant  secretaries  were  appointed. 
By  a  vote  of  the  separate  orders,  the  lay  delegates  were  seated 
apart  from  the  ministerial. 

The  usual  standing  committees  were  appointed,  twelve  in 
number;  and  special  committees  on  Temperance  and  Prohibi- 
tion of  the  Liquor-traffic,  Deaconess  ^Vork,  Judiciary,  Epworth 
League,  Equal  Ministerial  and  Lay  Representation,  General 
Conference  Districts,  Columbian  Exposition,  American  Bible 
Society,  and  minor  topics. 

The  quadrennial  Address  of  the  Bishops  was  read  by  Bishop 
Eoster,  and  the  subjects  spoken  of  properly  distributed  among 
the  committees.  It  was  ordered  that  it  be  printed  in  the 
Daily  Advocate  and  other  official  papers,  and  that  an  edition 
of  three  thousand  copies  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form.  Bishops 
Thoburn  and  Taylor  made  reports  of  their  work,  both  of  which 
reports  were  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Daily  Advocate,  and 
that  of  the  former  to  be  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  two  thou- 
sand copies,  for  distribution  among  our  academies,  seminaries, 
and  colleges. 

The  secretary  was  instructed  to  tabulate  and  print  in  the 
Daily  Advocate  the  votes  taken  during  the  last  quadrennium 
by  order  of  the  General  Conference;  namely,  the  vote  of  the 
annual  conferences  and  the  membership  on  the  eligibility  of 
women  to  the  electoral  and  General  Conferences;  the  vote  of 
the  annual  conferences  on  the  proposed  change  of  the  Restrict- 
ive Rule,  so  as  to  admit  women,  and  on  the  ratio  of  represen- 
tation, and  also  the  vote  on  the  Philadelphia  proposition. 
The  summary  of  lay  vote-  showed  that  235.668  voted  for  the 
eligibility  of  women,  and  163,843  against  their  eligibility.  The 
ministerial  vote  was  5,634  in  favor  and  4,717  against  the  ad- 

214 


1892.] 


The  General  Conference* 


215 


mission  of  women  as  delegates;  so  the  necessary  majority  of 
votes  was  not  given  for  any  one  of  these  changes. 

The  use  of  the  hall  where  the  Conference  met  was  granted 
to  Eev.  Samuel  A.  Keen  every  afternoon  from  four  to  five 
o'clock,  when  not  required  for  other  purposes,  for  the  hold- 
ing of  special  evangelistic  services.  Mr.  Keen's  meetings  were  , 
attended  with  great  spiritual  power,  and  much  good  resulted 
from  them. 

This  being  the  centennial  year  of  the  General  Conference, 
the  first  Conference  being  held  in  1792,  it  was  deemed  fitting 
to  celebrate  its  organization  and  work;  and  it  was  therefore 
resolved  that  such  a  celebration  be  held  on  Tuesday  evening, 
May  17th,  with  appropriate  addresses  and  other  exercises. 
The  Book  Agents  at  Cincinnati  were  instructed  to  engage  the 
services  of  some  competent  person  to  collect  and  arrange  the 
data  for  a  "Keproduced  Journal  of  the  General  Conference 
of  1792/'  from  whatever  sources  of  information  were  pos- 
sible to  be  collated.  The  same  was  ordered  to  be  published 
in  a  size  uniform  with  that  of  the  Journals  of  the  General 
Conference.  This  reproduced  journal  appears  in  the  present 
volume.   It  is  also  printed  separately. 

Though  the  General  Conference  had  previously  expressed 
its  sympathy  with  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  directed 
that  collections  should  be  made  in  its  behalf  in  all  our  con- 
gregations, it  again  gave  it  a  special  indorsement.  By  reason 
of  its  undenominational  character  and  its  indispensable  aid  in 
foreign  mission  work,  the  Conference  urged  on  all  our  preach- 
ers the  duty  of  laying  more  especial  emphasis  upon  the  im- 
portance of  the  collection  for  the  society,  and  on  our  people 
the  duty  of  making  more  liberal  contributions  in  support  of 
its  great  enterprise. 

The  Committee  on  the  Entertainment  of  the  General  Con- 
ference and  Expenses  of  Eraternal  Delegates,  Judicial  Confer- 
ences, etc.,  reported  the  gross  sum  collected  for  this  purpose 
to  be  $38,971.82,  and  the  entire  amount  necessary  to  defray 
expenses  to  be  $39,831.52.  The  deficiency,  $879.70,  was  or- 
dered to  be  borrowed  from  the  Book  Concern. 

Eraternal  letters  and  representatives  from  other  Churches 
were  received  as  follows:  From  the  British  Conference,  Will- 


216 


The  General  Conference. 


[1892. 


iam  F.  Moulton;  from  the  Methodist  Church  in  Ireland,  an 
address;  from  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada,  Albert  Carman; 
from  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  E.  Cottrell; 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  John  J.  Tigert; 
From  the  Independent  Methodist  Churches  (of  Baltimore), 
Charles  J.  Baker;  from  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  W.  M. 
Beardshear;  from  the  African  [Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
J.  T.  Jenifer;  and  from  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion 
Church,  William  II.  Goler.  Telegrams  were  received,  contain- 
ing fraternal  greetings  from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  in  session  at  Portland,  Oregon,  and  from  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  in 
session  at  Westminster,  Md. 

Pieports  were  made  by  the  fraternal  delegates  sent  by  the 
General  Conference  to  the  British  and  Irish  Methodist  Confer- 
ences, II.  W.  Warren  and  Charles  J.  Little;  by  the  delegate 
sent  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  F.  M.  Bristol; 
and  by  the  delegate  sent  to  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Zion  Church,  Joshua  E.  Wilson. 

The  bishops  were  requested  to  provide  for  a  biennial  visi- 
tation to  the  South  xlmerican  conferences,  and  were  authorized 
to  appoint  pastors  from  our  Church  to  any  Methodist  Church 
not  under  our  care,  having  the  same  doctrines  and  usages,  and 
co-operating  witli  us  in  our  benevolent  work,  when  so  re- 
quested. Detroit  and  the  state  of  Washington  were  made 
episcopal  residences. 

The  Conference  authorized  the  RocJcij  Mountain  Christian 
Advocate  to  be  published  at  Denver  in  behalf  of  the  Church, 
and  appointed  a  commission  for  this  purpose,  with  the  proviso 
that  neither  the  Church  nor  the  Book  Concern  should  be  in- 
volved in  any  financial  responsibility  or  loss.  The  Sundaij-scliool 
Advocate  was  made  a  weekly  paper,  the  Classmate  doubled  in 
size,  and  the  Picture  Lesson  Paper  ordered  to  be  printed  in 
colors.  A  commission  was  appointed  to  publish  in  behalf  of 
the  Church  at  Omaha  the  Nebraska  Christian  Advocate,  on  con- 
dition that  the  Church  or  the  Book  Concern  should  not  be 
involved  in  any  financial  responsibility  or  loss. 

[Memorial  services  were  held  in  commemoration  of  John  M. 
Phillips,  Book  Agent  in  Xew  York,  who  died  January  15,  1889; 


1892.] 


The  General  Conference. 


2  1  7 


Jeremiah  H.  Ba)diss,  Editor  of  the  Western  Christian  Advocate, 
who  died  August  14,  1889;  Benjamin  St.  James  Fry,  Editor 
of  the  Central  Christian  Advocate,  who  died  February  5,  1892 ; 
and  of  several  members  of  the  General  Conferences  of  1888 
and  1892,  who  died  before  May  1,  1892.  Only  the  memoirs  of 
Mr.  Phillips,  by  Sandford  Hunt;  of  Dr.  Bayliss,  by  Adna  B. 
Leonard,  and  of  Dr.  Fry,  by  Arthur  Edwards,  were  ordered  to 
be  incorporated  in  the  Journal. 

The  commission  appointed  by  the  General  Conference  oi 
1888  on  the  Church  Constitution,  made  its  report;  and,  after 
it  was  discussed,  and  various  amendments  proposed,  it  was 
finally  postponed,  with  instructions  to  have  the  report  pub- 
lished in  the  papers  of  the  Church,  and  presented  to  the  next 
General  Conference. 

Some  question  had  arisen  concerning  the  function  of  the 
bishops  in  the  election  of  an  editor  or  publishing  agent  by 
the  Book  Committee,  and  whether  they  might  take  part  in 
the  deliberations  of  the  committee.  The  matter  was  brought 
to  the  notice  of  the  General  Conference,  and  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Judiciary.  After  proper  consideration,  the  com- 
mittee reported  that  the  general  superintendents  are  not  pres- 
ent as  a  part  of  a  joint  committee,  nor  for  the  purpose  of  joint 
action  in  any  particular  with  the  Book  Committee;  but  they 
are  present  as  a  separate  body,  to  hear  the  actions  of  the  Book 
Committee;  and  their  only  function  is  to  concur  or  refuse  to 
concur  in  that  action.  They  may  take  part  in  any  action  had 
by  the  Book  Committee  only  by  virtue  of  its  request  or  per- 
mission. The  report  was  adopted,  and  the  relation  of  the  bish- 
ops to  the  committee  defined. 

The  declaration  of  the  Conference  on  the  subject  of  tem- 
perance was  clear  and  explicit.  While  not  dictating  to  the 
members  -of  the  Church  their  political  action,  they  record  it 
as  their  deliberate  judgment  that  no  political  party  ought  to 
receive  or  expect  the  support  of  Christian  men  so  long  as  it 
stands  committed  to  the  license  policy  or  refuses  to  put  itself 
on  record  in  an  attitude  of  open  hostility  to  the  saloon  and 
the  liquor  interests. 

The  Conference  recommended  to  the  annual  confer- 
ences a  change  in  the  organic  law  of  the  General  Confer- 


218 


The  General  Conference. 


[1892. 


ence,  by  which  there  might  be  an  equal  number  of  clerical 
and  lay  delegates  elected  to  each  General  Conference.  It  was 
enacted  that,  if  the  General  Conference  should,  by  a  two-thirds 
vote,  agree  to  this  change,  and  it  should  receive  the  necessary 
three-fourths  vote  of  the  members  of  the  annual  conferences, 
then  the  several  electoral  conferences  of  1895-96  might  elect 
representatives  in  equal  numbers  with  the  ministerial,  and 
the  General  Conference  of  189G  might  provide  for  their  ad- 
mission. 

It  was  also  recommended  to  the  annual  conferences  to 
change  the  ratio  of  representation,  so  as  to  read  in  the  Rule 
on  the  subject  (Discipline,  \  63,  §  2,  line  4),  "Xot  more  than 
one  for  every  forty-five,  nor  less  than  one  for  every  ninety." 

The  secretary  was  directed  to  send  to  the  secretaries  of  the 
several  annual  conferences  blank  forms  for  certificates  of  the 
votes  cast  in  the  respective  conferences  on  these  proposed 
changes,  so  that  the  result  could  easily  be  ascertained  and 
reported  to  the  next  General  Conference. 

Resolutions  were  passed,  expressive  of  the  hearty  approval 
of  the  Conference  of  the  general  purposes  of  the  proposed  Co- 
lumbian Exposition,  and  an  emphatic  protest  against  opening 
its  gates  on  Sunday. 

The  Commission  on  Education,  appointed  by  the  last  Gen- 
eral Conference,  reported  a  paragraph  to  take  the  place  of  the 
chapter  on  education  in  the  Discipline  of  1888.  The  intention 
was  to  give  more  unity,  breadth,  and  effectiveness  to  the  edu- 
cational work  of  the  Church.  The  report  was  adopted,  and  the 
proposed  substitution  was  placed  in  the  Discipline. 

The  Epworth  League,  which  was  a  combination  of  five  sepa- 
rate societies  of  young  people,  was  organized  at  Cleveland,  0., 
in  1889,  and  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut  was  elected  its  corresponding 
secretary.  The  General  Conference  adopted  the  League,  and 
gave  it  a  Constitution,  vesting  its  management  in  a  Board  of 
Control,  and  determining  its  officers.  It  also  established  a 
paper  expressly  for  the  benefit  of  the  members  of  the  League, 
named  the  Epivorth  Herald.  The  president  of  an  Epworth 
League  Chapter,  if  confirmed  by  the  quarterly  conference,  be- 
comes a  member  of  that  conference.  The  central  office  of  the 
League  was  fixed  at  Chicago. 


•1892.] 


The  General  Conference. 


219 


The  admission  of  women  as  lay  delegates  was  still  an  open 
question;  and  those  who  favored  it  moved  that  the  matter  be 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Judiciary,  with  instructions  to 
report  as  soon  as  practicable.  The  report  stated  that  under 
the  well-recognized  rule  of  construction  the  intent  of  the  law- 
makers in  using  the  words  "lay  delegates,"  "laymen,"  and 
"members  of  the  Church  in  full  connection,"  in  paragraphs 
55  to  63,  inclusive,  in  the  Discipline,  was  not  to  apply  them 
to  both  sexes,  but  to  men  only.  For  this  report  a  substitute 
was  offered  by  David  H.  Moore,  to  which  an  amendment  was 
offered  by  J.  W.  Hamilton,  dissenting  from  'the  report  of 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  referring  the  question  again  to 
the  annual  conferences  and  to  the  membership.  Dr.  Hamil- 
ton's amendment  was  accepted,  and  the  substitute  was  adopted. 
It  was  thus 

"Resolved,  1.  That  we  submit  to  the  annual  conferences  the 
proposition  to  amend  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule,  by  adding  the 
words,  'and  said  delegates  must  be  male  members'  after  the  words, 
'two  lay  delegates  for  an  annual  conference,'  so  that  it  will  read 
'nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an  annual  conference,  and 
said  delegates  must  be  male  members.' 

"2.  That  this  proposition  be  submitted  to  the  annual  confer- 
ences during  the  autumn  of  1895  and  the  spring  of  1896. 

"3.  That  in  the  month  of  October  or  November,  1894,  there  shall 
be  held  in  every  place  of  public  worship  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  an  election,  at  which  every  member  in  full  connection  who 
is  not  less  than  twenty-one  years  of  age  shall  be  permitted  to  vote 
upon  the  following  proposition:  'Shall  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule 
be  amended  by  adding  the  words  and  said  delegates  must  be  male 
members  after  the  words  'two  lay  delegates  for  an  annual  confer- 
ence,' so  that  it  will  read  'nor  of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for 
an  annual  conference,  and  said  delegates  must  be  male  members.'  " 

The  fourth  resolution  prescribed  the  method  of  taking  this 
vote,  and  the  manner  of  reporting  the  result  of  the  election; 
and  the  fifth  resolution  reads  as  follows: 

"5.  That  if  the  amendment  so  submitted  does  not  receive  the 
votes  of  three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  annual  conferences 
and  two-thirds  of  the  General  Conference,  the  Second  Restrictive 
Rule  shall  be  so  construed  that  the  words  'lay  delegates'  may  in- 
clude men  and  women,  and  thus  be  in  harmony  with  the  legislation 
of  previous  General  Conferences." 


220 


The  General  Conference. 


[1892. 


The  American  University,  located  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
was  approved  by  the  Conference,  and  the  patronage  of  the 
same,  according  to  the  terms  of  its  charter,  was  accepted. 
The  Board  of  Trustees  named  in  the  charter  was  approved. 
A  resolution  was  adopted,  reciting  the  debasing  and  ruin- 
ous effects  of  opium-smoking,  and  requesting  Congress  to 
devise  measures  to  suppress  the  evil,  by  prohibiting  the 
importation  and  sale  of  opium-smoking  extract  under  heavy 
penalties.  The  American  Sabbath  Union,  organized  for  the 
protection  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest  and 
worship,  was  heartily  indorsed.  Mob  law,  lynch ings,  and 
other  outrages  against  humanity  were  denounced,  and  the 
State  Legislatures  and  Congress  called  upon  to  enact  just 
laws  against  them,  and  see  that  they  are  enforced.  A 
University  Senate  was  authorized,  to  be  composed  of  prac- 
tical educators,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  minimum 
equivalent  of  academic  work  in  our  Church  institutions  for 
graduation  to  the  Baccalaureate  degree.  This  action  was  de- 
signed to  place  all  our  colleges  in  the  same  grade.  Post- 
graduate courses  of  study  were  commended.  Two  secretaries 
for  the  Church  Extension  Board,  and  two  for  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  Society  were  ordered  to  be  elected.  A  commission  of  not 
less  than  three  nor  more  than  seven  la3rmen  was  ordered,  to 
be  appointed  by  the  bishops,  to  originate  and  operate  a 
Church  Insurance  Company,  under  certain  limitations.  The 
name  Book  Agents  for  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  was 
changed  to  Publishing  Agents.  Bishop  xVndrews  was  appointed 
to  edit  the  Discipline,  and  a  committee,  consisting  of  Bishop 
Foss,  the  Editor  of  Books  at  Xew  York,  the  Editor  of  the 
Christian  Advocate,  John  Miley,  and  the  Agents  of  the  Book 
Concern  in  Xew  York,  were  appointed  to  revise  it,  under  cer- 
tain restrictions,  and  to  authorize  a  reconstruction  and  enlarge- 
ment of  the  historical  introduction,  but  not  to  exceed  four 
pages  in  length. 

The  General  Conference  received  invitations  to  meet  in 
three  or  four  different  places  in  1896;  but  as  no  representatives 
from  either  place  were  authorized  to  make  the  necessary  guaran- 
tees as. to  hotel  prices  and  railroad  accommodations,  it  was  re- 
solved that  the  whole  matter  of  arrangements  and  entertain- 


1892.] 


The  General  Conference. 


221 


ment  of  the  next  General  Conference  be  referred,  with  power 
to  act,  to  the  Book  Committee. 

The  official  elections  in  the  General  Conference  were  as 
follows:  Publishing  Agents,  New  York,  Sandford  Hunt,  Homer 
Eaton;  Cincinnati,  Earl  Cranston,  Lewis  Curts.  Editors,  Meth- 
odist Review,  James  W.  Mendenhall;  Christian  Advocate,  James 
M..  Buckley;  Sunday-school  Publications,  Jesse  L.  Ilurlbut; 
Northern  Christian  Advocate,  James  E.  C.  Sawyer;  Pittsburgh, 
Charles  W.  Smith;  Western,  David  H.  Moore;  *  Northwestern, 
Arthur  Edwards;  Central,  Jesse  Bowman  Young;  California, 
Benjamin  F.  Crary;  Southwestern,  Edward  W.  S.  Hammond; 
Christliche  Apologete,  Albert  J.  Nast;  Haus  und  Herd,  Henry 
Liebhart.  Corresponding  Secretaries,  Missionary  Society, 
Charles  C.  McCabe,  Jonas  0.  Peck,  Adna  B.  Leonard;  Church 
Extension,  William  A.  Spencer,  Alpha  J.  Kynett;  Freedmen's 
Aid,  Joseph  C.  Hartzell,  John  W.  Hamilton;  Education, 
Charles  H.  Payne. 

On  Thursday,  May  26th,  the  Conference  adjourned  sine  die. 


1896. 


n^HIS  year  the  General  Conference  convened  in  the  Armory 
building,  in  the  city  of  Cleveland,  on  Friday,  May  1st. 
There  were  five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  delegates,  of  whom 
three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  were  clerical  and  two  hundred 
lay.  One  hundred  and  twenty-two  conferences  were  represented. 
All  the  bishops,  including  the  missionary  bishops,  were  present. 
David  S.  Monroe  was  elected  secretary. 

The  first  action  of  the  Conference  was  the  reception  of  a 
protest,  signed  by  James  M.  Buckley  and  others,  against  the 
admission  of  certain  women,  elected  delegates  by  several  of 
the  lay  electoral  conferences,  whose  names  appeared  on  the 
roll.  A  committee  on  their  eligibility,  consisting  of  one  min- 
ister and  one  layman  from  each  General  Conference  District, 
and  three  at  large,  was  appointed,  to  report  on  Monday  morning, 
May  4th,  at  ten  o'clock. 

Standing  committees,  to  consist  of  one  member  from  each 
delegation,  were  ordered  on  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy,  Boundaries, 
Revisals,  Temporal  Economy,  State  of  the  Church,  Book  Con- 
cern, Temperance  and  the  Prohibition  of  the  Liquor-traffic, 
Missions,  Education,  Church  Extension,  Sunday-schools  and 
Tracts,  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Work  in  the  South,  and  Epworth 
League.  Special  committees  were  appointed  on  Judiciary,  Con- 
stitution, Consolidation  of  Benevolences,  Fraternal  Delegates, 
American  Bible  Society,  Memorials,  Rules  of  Order.  Acknowl- 
edging the  Reception  tendered  to  the  General  Conference,  and 
on  minor  matters. 

The  Address  of  the  bishops  was  read  by  Bishop  Warren,  and 
thirty-five  hundred  copies  were  ordered  to  be  printed  in  pamph- 
let form,  and  in  all  the  Church  papers.  The  various  subjects 
treated  of  were  referred  to  the  appropriate  committees.  A 
manual  of  the  General  Conference,  called  "Agenda,"  was  pre- 
pared and  published  for  the  use  of  the  members. 

Resolutions  favoring  the  arbitration  of  international  differ- 
ences were  passed,  and  the  presiding  officers  and  secretary  were 
requested  to  send  a  copy  to  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

222 


1896.] 


The  General  Conference. 


223 


The  Committee  on  the  Eligibility  of  Women  as  delegates  to 
the  General  Conference  submitted  majority  and  minority  re- 
ports, on  May  4th.  The  former  was  signed  by  twenty  members 
of  the  committee,  and  the  latter  by  eleven.  The  majority  de- 
clare that,  having  carefully  considered  the  challenge  of  the 
eligibility  of  Lydia  A.  Trimble,  delegate-elect  from  the  Foo- 
chow  Electoral  Conference;  Lois  S.  Parker  and  AdaC.  Butcher, 
delegates-elect  from  the  North  India  Electoral  Conference;  and 
of  Jane  Field  Bashford,  delegate-elect  from  the  Ohio  Electoral 
Conference,  the  challenge  is  not  sustained,  and  the  aforesaid 
lady  delegates-elect  are  not  ineligible  to  seats  in  this  body. 
The  minority  of  the  committee  say  that,  after  reviewing  the 
action  of  the  General  Conferences  since  1872,  when  laymen 
were  first  admitted  as  representatives  in  this  assembly,  the  chal- 
lenge of  the  eligibility  of  the  women,  whose  names  appear  above, 
is  sustained,  that  the  election  of  women  by  lay  electoral  confer- 
ences is  illegal,  and  that  to  seat  the  claimants  would  tend  to 
destroy  all  respect  for  the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  and  for 
the  decisions  and  interpretations  of  the  General  Conference. 

Prior  to  the  presentation  of  these  reports,  the  secretary  read 
a  communication  from  Jane  F.  Bashford,  Lois  S.  Parker,  and 
Ada  C.  Butcher,  lay  delegates-elect,  expressing  their  appreci- 
ation of  the  courtesy  shown  them,  but  relinquishing  for  the 
sake  of  peace  all  claims  to  membership  in  this  body.  They  do 
not  waive  the  claims  of  women  to  sit  as  delegates  in  future 
General  Conferences,  and  believe  that  this  present  decision  on 
their  part  will  best  secure  their  interests,  and,  in  the  providence 
of  God,  a  more  abundant  entrance  to  those  who  shall  come  after 
them.  Miss  Lydia  A.  Trimble,  lay  delegate-elect  from  the  Foo- 
chow  Electoral  Conference,  came  into  Cleveland  after  the  with- 
drawal of  the  other  women  delegates,  and  learning  what  had 
been  done,  also  waived  her  claims  to  a  seat,  and  withdrew. 

Both  the  reports  of  the  Committee  on  Eligibility  were,  on 
motion,  recommitted,  with  instructions  to  find,  if  possible,  a 
common  ground  of  agreement,  and  report  after  reading  the 
Journal  on  May  7th. 

The  committee  reported  that  the  question  of  eligibility  is 
a  constitutional  question,  and  that  the  General  Conference  has 
full  power,  in  its  judicial  capacity,  to  interpret  the  Constitu- 


224 


The  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


tion,  the  question  being  raised  on  a  case  which  properly  invokes 
the  judicial  function.  The  terms  used  in  \  62  of  the  Discipline 
are  such  as -to  admit  of  serious  doubt,  and  raise  questions  on 
which  the  committee  could  not  agree.  They  recommend  that  no 
formal  decision  of  the  question  be  made  at  this  time;  but  as  the 
challenge  had  not  been  judicially  passed  upon,  those  occupying 
the  seats  in  question  do  so  under  a  title  in  dispute,  yet  without 
-  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  either  challengers  or  challenged,  and 
without  establishing  a  precedent.  The  committee  further  pro- 
posed an  amendment  to  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule,  so  that  it 
should  read  as  follows: 

"§  2.  The  General  Conference  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one 
ministerial  representative  for  every  fourteen  members  of  an  annual 
'  conference,  nor  of  a  less  number  than  one  for  every  forty-five,  nor 
of  more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  any  annual  conference;  pro- 
vided, that  no  person  shall  be  chosen  a  delegate  to  the  General  Con- 
ference or  to  an  electoral  conference  who  shall  be  under  twenty-five 
years  of  age,  or  who  shall  not  have  been  a  member  of  the  Church 
in  full  connection  for  the  five  consecutive  years  preceding  the  elec- 
tion; and  provided,  also,  that  no  conference  shall  be  denied  the  privi- 
lege of  one  ministerial  and  one  lay  delegate;  provided,  nevertheless, 
that  where  there  shall  be  in  any  conference  a  fraction  of  two-thirds 
the  number  which  shall  be  fixed  for  the  ratio  of  representation, 
such  conference  shall  be  entitled  to  an  additional  delegate  for  such 
fraction." 

The  bishops  were  instructed  to  submit  this  alteration  to  the 
annual  conferences  at  their  first  sessions  following  the  adjourn- 
ment of  the  General  Conference. 

Word  was  received  and  reported  to  the  Conference  of  the 
serious  illness,  and  later  of  the  death  of  John  M.  Reid,  honorary 
secretary  of  the  Missionary  Society.  An  appropriate  minute  was 
adopted  for  entry  upon  the  Journal,  and  the  secretaries  of  the 
Missionary  Society  were  requested  to  prepare  a  memoir,  to  be 
published  with  the  Journal.  The  memoir  was  not  printed  in 
the  Journal;  but  the  official  journals  of  the  Church  gave  full 
accounts  of  the  life,  services,  and  death  of  this  honored  man 
of  God. 

Fraternal  delegates  were  received  and  introduced  from  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South  (J.  C.  Morris  and  E.  B. 
Perkins);  from  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  (W.  L.  Wat- 


1896.] 


The  General  Conference. 


225 


kinson);  from  the  Irish  Conference  (R.  C.  Johnson);  from  the 
Canada  Methodist  Church  (J.  J.  Lathern);  from  the  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (J.  A.  Johnson);  from  the  Col- 
ored Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (C.  H.  Phillips);  from  the 
Reformed  Episcopal  Church  (B.  T.  Noakes);  from  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Church  of  New  Zealand  (John  J.  Lewis);  and  from 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church  (J.  T.  Gaskill). 
All  of  these  representatives  made  appropriate  addresses  before 
the  Conference.  Fraternal  greetings  were  sent  to  and  received 
from  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  at 
Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Methodist  Protestant  General 
Conference,  at  Kansas  City,  Kan.  Greetings  were  also  sent  to 
the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church,  in  session  at 
Mobile,  Ala.  The  general  officers  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  and 
Woman's  Home  Missionary  Societies,  in  attendance  as  visitors, 
were  presented  to  the  Conference,  and  invited  to  seats  on  the 
platform. 

Reports  were  presented  by  the  fraternal  delegates  sent  from 
this  General  Conference  to  other  religious  bodies,  as  follows: 
By  James  H.  Potts,  sent  to  the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada; 
John  F.  Goucher  and  Henry  Wade  Rogers,  sent  to  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South;  and  by  J.  W.  E.  Bowen,  sent  to  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  question  of  equal  representation  of  the  ministers  and 
laymen  in  the  General  Conference  was  ordered  to  be  submitted 
to  a  vote  in  the  annual  conferences.  If  the  conferences  shall 
determine  that  an  equal  number  of  lay  representatives  may  be 
elected  with  the  clerical,  then  the  electoral  conferences  may 
elect  in  1899  and  1900  representatives  equal  in  number  with 
the  clerical,  and  the  General  Conference  of  1900  may  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  provide  fox  their  admission. 

The  organic  union  of  other  religious  bodies  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  was  sanctioned,  under  certain  specified 
conditions,  so  that  both  ministers  and  members  should  be  re- 
ceived and  recognized  as  such  in  full  communion.  The  insu- 
rance plan  of  the  West  Wisconsin  Conference  was  approved,  and 
the  organization  of  a  Mutual  Church  Insurance  Company  was 
provided  for  by  the  General  Conference,  on  the  principles  and 
method  laid  down  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline,  of  1896. 
15 


226 


The  General  Conference. 


[189a 


Bishops  Bowman  and  Foster  were  retired  from  the  effective 
list  of  bishops,  and  relieved  of  all  episcopal  functions,  and  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  Taylor  was  also  retired  as  non-effective.  The 
Conference  determined  that  the  episcopacy  should  be  strength- 
ened by  the  election  of  two  bishops,  and  that  a  missionary  bishop 
should  be  elected  for  Africa.  The  election  was  held,  beginning 
May  15th,  and  resulted  as  follows,  two-thirds  of  all  the  votes 
cast  being  necessary  to  elect:  On  the  fifteenth  ballot,  Charles 
Cardwell  McCabe  received  314  ballots,  and  was  elected,  and  on 
the  sixteenth  ballot  Earl  Cranston  had  366  votes,  and  was 
elected.  Joseph  Crane  Hartzell  was  elected  Missionary  Bishop 
for  Africa.  He  had  already  been  elected  secretary  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Aid  Society;  but  when  elected  to  the  missionary  episco- 
pate, he  resigned  that  office.  The  consecration  ceremonies  took 
place  on  Tuesday,  May  26th. 

Memorial  services  were  held  on  May  15th  and  16th,  in  honor 
of  the  General  Conference  officers  who  had  died  during  the 
quadrennium — James  W.  Mendenhall,  June  18,  1892;  Jonas  0. 
Peck,  May  17,  1891;  Sandford  Hunt,  February  10,  1896;  Henry 
Liebhart,  January  26,  1895;  Benjamin  F.  Crary,  March  16, 
1895.  The  memoir  of  J.  W.  Mendenhall  was  read  by  William 
F.  Whitlock;  of  J.  0.  Peck  by  George  E.  Eeed;  of  S.  Hunt  by 
Homer  Eaton;  of  H.  Liebhart  by  Albert  J.  Nast;  and  of  B.  F. 
Crary  by  John  Coyle. 

The  days  upon  which  the  several  standing  committees  should 
meet  were  determined;  and  it  was  ordered  that  on  the  day 
following  the  election  of  delegates  from  an  annual  conference, 
the  chairman  of  the  delegation  (the  member  receiving  the  high- 
est number  of  votes  on  the  first  ballot  that  elects)  shall  furnish 
the  secretary  of  the  last  General  Conference  the  names  of  the 
several  standing  committees,  as  chosen  by  the  members  of  his 
delegation.  From  these  returns  the  secretary  shall  construct, 
so  far  as  possible,  the  rolls  of  the  standing  committees  in  ad- 
vance of  the  session  of  the  ensuing  General  Conference.  This 
order  is  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 

A  plan  for  seating  the  next  General  Conference  was  adopted, 
and  ordered  to  be  printed  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline. 
This  plan  is  intended  to  facilitate  the  seating  of  the  delegates, 
and  save  time  in  the  selection  of  places  for  the  several  dele- 
gations. 


1896.] 


The  General  Conference. 


227 


The  elections  in  the  Conference  resulted  as  follows:  Pub- 
lishing Agents,  New  York,  Homer  Eaton,  George  P.  Mains; 
Cincinnati,  Lewis  Curts,  Henry  C.  Jennings;  Editors,  Methodist 
Review,  William  V.  Kelley;  Christian  Advocate,  J.  M.  Buckley; 
Sunday-school  Publications,  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut;  Northern  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  James  E.  C.  Sawyer;  Pittsburgh,  Charles  W. 
Smith;  Western,  D.  H.  Moore;  Northwestern,  Arthur  Edwards; 
Central,  Jesse  B.  Young;  California,  Winfleld  S.  Matthew; 
Southwestern,  Isaiah  B.  Scott;  Epworth  Herald,  Joseph  F.  Berry; 
Christliche  Apologete,  A.  J.  Nast;  Haus  und  Herd,  Franz  L. 
Nagler.  Corresponding  Secretaries,  Missionary  Society,  Adna 
B.  Leonard,  Abraham  J.  Palmer,  William  T.  Smith;  Church 
Extension,  Alpha  J.  Kynett,  William  A.  Spencer;  Freedmen's 
Aid,  John  W.  Hamilton,  Madison  C.  B.  Mason  (in  place  of  J.  C. 
Hartzell,  resigned);  Education,  Charles  H.  Payne. 

The  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  General  Conference 
of  1900  was  instructed  to  appoint  three  of  its  number  as  a  sub- 
committee on  fraternal  delegates,  to  correspond  with  them  and 
arrange  for  their  entertainment.  A  communication  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Methodist  Confederation  was  received  from  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  and 
referred  to  the  Board  of  Bishops.  The  secretary  of  the  Confer- 
ence was  made  the  custodian  of  all  the  papers  and  the  Journal 
belonging  to  it,  to  deliver  the  same  to  his  successor,  and  to 
make  a  roll  of  the  ensuing  General  Conference — this  duty,  in 
the  case  of  his  death,  to  be  performed  by  the  assistant  secre- 
taries, in  the  order  of  their  appointment.  The  Conference 
passed  resolutions  favoring  the  bill  pending  in  Congress,  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  in  the  Capitol  build- 
ings, and  asking  for  the  passage  of  a  law  prohibiting  the  issuing 
of  permits  by  the  Government  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
as  a  beverage  in  those  States  where  such  sale  is  prohibited  by 
law.  The  Conference  recommended  the  giving  of  instruction 
relating  to  the  physiological  effects  of  alcohol  and  other  nar- 
cotics, in  all  the  literary  institutions,  Sunday-schools,  and  mis- 
sion schools  of  the  Church,  and  approved  of  the  object  of  the 
American  Anti-saloon  League. 

The  Book  Committee  wras  instructed  to  take  under  advise- 
ment the  diminution  in  number  of  the  official  papers  of  the 


228 


The  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


Church,  and  report  to  the  General  Conference  of  1900.  The 
committee  was  authorized  to  elect  a  general  book  editor,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  the  Publishing  Agents,  and  to  discon- 
tinue any  depository  or  periodical  when  the  interests  of  the 
Church  or  the  Book  Concern  demand  it.  A  book  depository 
was  authorized  to  be  established  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  and  the 
committee  was  directed  to  make  careful  investigation  of  all  the 
facts  in  connection  with  each  place  asking  for  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1900,  and  to  determine  which  place  shall  be  selected, 
with  power  to  make  all  the  arrangements  connected  therewith, 
as  to  entertainment,  expenses  of  delegates,  etc. 

To  official  boards  was  given  all  the  duties  heretofore  belong- 
ing exclusively  to  the  leaders  and  stewards'  meeting.  The 
chapters  relating  to  deaconesses  and  conference  claimants  were 
changed,  and  the  bishops  were  requested  to  prepare  a  form  for 
the  consecration  of  deaconesses.  The  Conference  allowed  this 
form  to  be  inserted  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Discipline,  as  it  was 
not  ready  in  time  for  their  approval  by  vote.  Eesolutions  of 
sympathy  for  the  insurgents  in  Cuba,  struggling  for  freedom, 
and  for  the  Armenian  Christians,  suffering  from  religious  per- 
secution by  the  Turks,  were  passed,  and  asking  the  General 
Government  to  discontinue  appropriating  funds  for  sectarian 
schools.  A  new  order  for  public  worship  was  arranged,  to  be 
printed  with  the  Church  hymnal,  and  also  in  such  form  that  it 
may  be  obtained  separately  by  Churches  already  supplied  with 
hymnals  and  pasted  in  every  copy.  The  action  of  the  state  of 
Florida,  forbidding  white  persons  and  Negroes  to  be  taught  in 
the  same  schools,  was  deprecated,  and  any  efforts  to  test  the 
constitutionality  of  the  law  in  the  civil  courts  or  secure  its 
repeal  were  approved. 

Pastors  of  charges  were  forbidden  to  engage  an  evangelist 
other  than  those  appointed  by  the  bishops  of  their  conference, 
without  first  obtaining  the  consent  of  their  presiding  elders. 
Against  this  action  a  strong  protest  was  presented,  to  be  en- 
tered on  the  Journal  of  the  Conference,  signed  by  forty-seven 
members,  on  the  ground  that  it  involves  an  unjustifiable  re- 
striction of  pastoral  prerogative.  The  General  Committee  of 
the  Missionary  Society  was  forbidden  to  appropriate  more  for 
a  given  year  than  the  total  income  of  the  society  for  the  year 


1896.J 


The  General  Conference. 


229 


immediately  preceding.  This  rule  was  ordered  to  be  inserted 
in  its  proper  place  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Soci- 
ety. The  bishops  were  requested  to  appoint  a  committee,  to 
consist  of  six  laymen,  six  ministers,  and  three  general  super- 
intendents, to  review  the  work  of  the  Constitutional  Com- 
mission of  1888,  the  recommendations  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  General  Conference  of  1896,  and  the  recom- 
mendations of  all  General  Conference  Committees  on  Lay 
Representation;  also,  to  consider  with  care  any  memorials  that 
may  be  addressed  to  the  new  committee  over  the  signature  of 
any  five  ministers  or  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
and  to  report,  first,  a  draft  which  shall  set  forth,  in  well-defined 
terms  and  in  logically-arranged  articles,  the  existing  organic  law 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  and,  secondly,  any  modifi- 
cations of  said  organic  law  which  the  new  committee  may 
recommend  for  adoption  by  the  concurrent  action  of  the  General 
Conference  and  the  members  of  the  annual  conferences.  It  was 
made  the  duty  of  the  new  committee  to  present  its  report  to  the 
Church  papers  as  early  as  January,  1899,  and  after  revising  it 
between  January  1  and  May  1,  1900,  in  the  light  of  all  discus- 
sions and  announcements  then  available,  to  present  it  in  its 
final  form  to  the  General  Conference  of  1900.  The  committee, 
as  appointed,  consists  of  W.  F.  Warren,  J.  M.  King,  R.  D. 
Munger,  E.  J.  Gray,  F.  G.  Mitchell,  R.  J.  Cooke,  W.  H.  Shier, 
F.  M.  Bristol,  Robert  Forbes,  J.  B.  Maxfield,  J.  T.  McFarland, 
J.  W.  Jackson,  Jacob  Rothweiler,  G.  M.  Booth,  ministers;  and 
David  Gordon,  J.  F.  Rusling,  J.  L.  Romer,  J.  E.  James,  R.  T. 
Miller,  E.  J.  Sawyer,  R.  S.  Tennant,  L.  M.  Shaw,  Leander 
Ferguson,  J.  H.  Mickey,  James  Allison,  A.  L.  Billups,  Henry 
Bendixen,  Henry  French,  laymen,  representing  the  fourteen 
General  Conference  Districts;  and  J.  M.  Buckley,  T.  B.  Neely, 
and  J.  F.  Goucher,  at  large,  and  Bishops  S.  M.  Merrill,  C.  D. 
Foss,  and  W.  X.  Ninde. 

The  time  of  the  meeting  of  the  General  Conference  was 
changed  from  the  first  day  of  May  to  the  first  Wednesday  of 
May,  the  change  being  referred  to  the  annual  conferences  for 
approval. 

A  committee,  consisting  of  Bishop  Andrews,  S.  L.  Baldwin, 
J.  M.  King,  J.  M.  Buckley,  H.  A.  Buttz,  and  W.  V.  JMley,  was 


230 


The  General  Conference. 


[1896. 


appointed  to  index  and  rearrange  the  Discipline,  and  Bishop 
Andrews  was  appointed  to  edit  it. 

A  few  minor  changes  were  made  in  the  Discipline,  and  the 
Conference  adjourned  on  Thursday,  May  28th. 


In  reading  this  condensed  account  of  the  action  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  for  the  century  just  ending,  two  things  will 
be  apparent:  First,  that  the  Church  has  always  been  ready  to 
adopt  new  measures  of  polity  when  circumstances,  or  the  con- 
ditions of  society,  demanded;  and,  secondly,  that  its  spiritual 
interests  have  continually  been  made  prominent.  While  no 
new  doctrine  has  been  introduced,  and  the  standards  of  the 
Wesleyan  theology  have  been  maintained  in  their  integrity, 
certain  of  the  general  rules  of  the  Church  have  received  a  wider 
application,  such  as  those  on  slavery,  temperance,  needless  self- 
indulgence,  and  amusements.  Xo  new  tests  for  membership 
have  been  imposed,  and  the  rights  of  both  the  ministry  and  the 
laity  have  been  jealously  guarded.  In  the  case  of  erring  mem- 
bers every  effort  to  save  them  for  this  life  and  for  that  which 
is  to  come  has  been  made.  From  the  first  the  entire  legislation, 
and  the  prudential  measures  adopted,  have  aimed  at  presenting 
to  Christ  as  his  bride  "a  glorious  Church,  not  having  spot  or 
wrinkle  or  any  such  thing/5  and  this,  not  only  in  outward 
adornment,  but  making  her  like  "the  King's  daughter,  all 
glorious  within."" 

The  Methodist  Church  from  small  beginnings  has  grown 
into  wealth  and  influence.  Once  it  was  everywhere  spoken 
against;  now  it  has  favor  and  acceptance.  Let  it  never  forget 
or  desert  its  fundamental  principle,  that  it  was  intended  to  be, 
and  is,  a  teacher  of  holiness,  and  that  its  existence  depends  upon 
its  possessing  the  revival  spirit,  the  baptism  of  fire  which  came 
upon  the  first  disciples  on  the  day  of  Pentecost! 


PART  II. 

TOPICAL. 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  MINISTRY. 


CONTINUOUS  narrative  of  thi  work  of  the  twenty-seven 


quadrennial  sessions  of  the  Great  Methodist  Legislature 
does  not  admit  of  a  topical  grouping  of  subjects.  In  order  to 
furnish  this  greatly  desirable  feature  of  a  history  of  the  General 
Conference  the  following  pages  have  been  prepared,  which, 
it  is  believed,  will  be  valuable  for  reference  by  those  who  desire 
to  trace  its  action  on  any  given  subject. 

GENESIS  OP  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  abounds  in  conferences. 
For  this  fact  two  reasons  may  be  given:  First.  Its  aggressive 
mission  calls  for  the  most  thorough  organization,  of  which  a 
large,  prompt,  and  constant  supervision  is  required.  Second. 
The  spirit  of  its  ministry  is  so  cordial  and  fraternal  that  fre- 
quent gatherings  not  only  add  to  its  efficiency,  but  are  also 
essential  to  its  comfort. 

The  first  Methodist  Conference  was  merely  a  private  re- 
ception given  by  John  Wesley  to  a  few  of  his  "helpers,"  whose 
views  on  certain  questions  he  thought  worth  the  asking.  But 
his  condescending  grace  so  soon  came  to  be  abused  that  he 
was  obliged  sharply  to  remind  them  that  they  were  not  a 
"body"  at  all,  but  merely  a  handful  of  men  whom  he  had  felt 
inclined  to  call  in  "to  advise,  not  to  govern,"  him. 

Quite  different  from  all  this  was  the  first  Methodist  Con- 
ference in  America.  It  was  held  inside  of  a  partly-finished, 
barn-like  structure,  originally  intended  for  a  German  church; 
but  which  afterwards  passed  into  Methodist  hands  to  become 
the  memorable  edifice  in  Philadelphia  long  known  as  "Old  St. 
George's."  The  Methodists  apparently  bought  the  name  of 
the  church  along  with  the  shell. 

The  date  of  the  meeting  was  July  14,  1773.  There  were 
ten  men  present,  all  from  Great  Britain,  the  same  number 
that   composed   Mr.   Wesley's   first   conference   in  London, 


233 


The  General  Conference. 


twenty-nine  years  before.  Their  names  were:  Thomas  Rankin, 
Richard  Boardman,  Joseph  Pillmoor,  Francis  Asbury,  Richard 
Wright,  George  Shadford,  Thomas  Webb,  John  King,  Abraham 
Whitworth  and  Joseph  Yearby.  Rankin  is  in  the  chair.  He 
has  been  sent  out  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  be  his  "General  Assistant" 
in  the  New  World.  He  would  like  to  be  the  American  edition 
of  his  great  chief;  but  the  soil  and  climate  of  the  country  are 
not  favorable  to  such  pretensions.  He  holds  himself  a  little 
above  them;  but  among  the  other  preachers  there  is  a  delight- 
ful spirit  of  fraternity. 

Everything  here  goes  by  majority  vote;  though  they  all 
vote  to  submit  to  the  authority  (not  of  Rankin,  but)  of  Wesley. 
There  are  ten  preachers  and  1,170  members  in  "society." 
After  two  days  of  hearty  Christian  fellowship  they  strike  out 
for  their  new  fields,  stronger  and  happier  for  the  Conference. 
The  Conference  is  their  Magna  Charta.  In  it  they  have  rights 
which  even  John  Wesley  must  respect. 

As  the  Methodist  area  increased,  local  or  district  con- 
ferences were  held  for  convenience. 

In  the  "Minutes  of  some  Conversations  between  the 
Preachers  in  Connection  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  J ohn  Wesley,"  for 
the  year  1783,  question  eighteen  is  as  follows: 

"When  and  where  shall  our  next  Conference  be  held? 
"Ans.  In  Baltimore,  the  4th  Tuesday  in  May." 

In  the  "Minutes"  for  1784  the  same  question,  in  plural 
form,  occurs: 

"When  and  where  shall  our  next  Conferences  be  held? 

"Ans.  The  first  at  Green  Hill's,  North  Carolina,  Friday,  29th, 
and  Saturday,  30th  of  April;  the  second  in  Virginia,  at  Conference 
Chapel,  May  8th;  the  third  in  Maryland,  Baltimore,  the  15th  day 
of  June." 

Thenceforward,  on  account  of  the  rapid  extension  of  the 
range  of  the  itinerants,  the  present  system  of  annual  conferences 
has  been  continued.  Thus,  in  1787,  six  conferences  were  ap- 
pointed; in  1788,  eleven;  and  in  1790,  thirteen. 

In  the  "Minutes"  for  1792  another  change  occurs.  The  an- 
nual conferences  had  been  regarded  as  parts  of  one  body,  merely 
divided  for  convenience,  the  unity  of  which  was  kept  up  by 


The  Ministry. 


235 


•the  bishops.  But  as  the  reference  of  the  action  of  one  con- 
ference to  another,  which  sometimes  came  to  be  needful,  was 
found  to  be  inconvenient,  it  was  determined  to  hold  one  Gen- 
eral Conference  annually  of  all  the  preachers,  or  as  many  as 
could  be  assembled;  which  Conference  was  first  held  at  the  old 
Light  Street  Church  in  Baltimore  in  the  month  of  September, 
1792.  No  less  than  twenty  annual  conferences  were  also  held 
during  that  Conference  year,  which  was  reckoned  from 
November,  1792,  to  October,  1793.  The  Christmas  Conference 
held  in  Baltimore,  beginning  December  24,  1784,  opened  a  new 
era  in  Methodism.  Thenceforward  it  was  to  be,  not  a  cluster  of 
"societies,"  but  a  Church.  Of  the  great  events  which  marked 
that  memorable  occasion  some  account  will  be  given  under 
the  topic  of  "Episcopacy."  At  this  point  the  question  arises 
as  to  the  status  of  that  assembly.  There  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  whether  or  not  it  should  be  set  down  as  a  Gen- 
eral Conference;  though  about  sixty  out  of  a  total  of  eighty- 
four  preachers  were  present,  and  the  business  transacted  was 
of  a  character  so  general  that  it  has  furnished  the  basis  and 
much  of  the  law  of  the  whole  Church  from  that  day  to  this. 
Asbury's  Journal  calls  it  a  "Convention;"  doubtless  because  it 
was  not  the  regularly-appointed  annual  gathering  of  all  the 
preachers,  which  had  then  become  an  established  custom. 

It  is  difficult  at  this  distance  of  time,  and  under  this 
difference  of  conditions,  to  conceive  of  the  Methodist  situation  in 
America  as  it  existed  prior  to  1784.  There  must  have  been  a 
crudeness  about  it  which  would  now  be  quite  shocking,  but 
that  nearness  to  nature  was  a  great  help  to  the  preachers,  most 
of  whom  were  but  little  superior  in  education  to  their  hearers. 
The  scattered  sheep  in  the  forest  were  so  glad  to  have  a 
spiritual  shepherd  that  they  were  not  over-particular  as  to 
his  "gifts,"  any  more  than  as  to  churchly  forms  and  surround- 
ings. Perhaps  it  was  better  that  the  most  of  the  itinerants, 
whose  mission  was  to  find  and  save  rude  people,  should  have 
been  nearly  on  a  level  with  their  congregations. 

In  the  conception  of  the  early  Methodists  a  minister  was, 
next  to  the  King  of  England,  and  later  on  next  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  the  greatest  character  in  the  world.  It 
was  an  honor  to  have  him  come  under  their  leaky  roof,  to  have 


236 


The  General  Conference. 


him  eat  at  their  rough  table,  and  to  make  him  a  rude  bed  on 
their  cabin  floor.  Obedience  to  "the  Church"  and  its  repre- 
sentatives had  been  a  part  of  their  religion  in  the  old 
country,  and  it  was  easy  for  them  to  transfer  their  allegiance 
to  the  men  who,  in  the  new  country,  were  taking  so  much 
pains  to  help  them  save  their  souls.  Thus,  without  question, 
the  power  of  the  ministry  in  all  spiritual  affairs  was  supreme. 

If  one  minister  was  impressive,  what  must  a  whole  con- 
ference have  been!  In  the  early  history  of  American  Meth- 
odism, so  far  as  government  was  concerned,  the  ministers  were 
the  Church.  There  was,  indeed,  aHparty  of  Virginians,  under 
the  lead  of  O'Kelly,  who  claimed  to  be  republican  in  religion 
as  well  as  in  politics;  but  perhaps  more  attention  has  been  paid 
to  them  than  the  importance  of  their  movement  deserves. 
With  the  great  majority  of  early  Methodists,  especially  those 
who  had  emigrated  from  England,  Germany,  and  Holland, 
obedience  to  the  clergy  was  as  much  an  instinct  as  was  obedience 
to  the  king.  The  preachers  were  thus  masters  of  the  situation, 
and  such  they  continued  to  be  for  more  than  fifty  years. 

But  there  was  one  respect  in  which  they  felt  themselves 
at  a  disadvantage.  They  were  not  "in  regular  orders;"  and 
without  a  "regular"  ordination  the  sacraments  were  not  held 
to  be  valid  at  their  hands.  Of  course  there  was  no  reason 
for  this  sense  of  inferiority,  except  what  had  been  impressed 
upon  their  minds  and  consciences  by  Mr.  Wesley;  in  whom, 
during  the  early  portion  of  his  life,  there  was  more  of  the 
traditions  of  the  Established  Church  than  was  good  for  him. 
It  was  he  who  had  taught  all  his  assistants  and  helpers  that 
it  was  an  ecclesiastical  crime  for  an  unordained  preacher  to 
presume  to  perform  the  office  of  baptism,  or  to  celebrate  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  and  these  men  were,  most  of  them,  proud  to  be 
his  obedient  son  in  the  gospel.  Previous  to  the  Conference  of 
1 784  nearly  all  the  itinerants  were  under  the  autocracy  of  J ohn 
Wesley,  and  nearly  up  to  that  time  he  himself  had  been  under 
the  domination  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 

But  a  war  of  revolution  had  been  going  on  in  his  mind. 
He  had  discovered  the  New  Testament  view  of  ministerial 
orders,  and  now  he  was  about  to  send  out  to  his  impatient 
people  in  America  that  priceless  gift,  that  invisible  but  no 


The  Ministry. 


237 


less  awful  power  and  prerogative,  to  wit,  a  "regular  ordina- 
tion;" a  true  form  of  "Apostolic  Succession/'  And  it  was 
quite  time  that  this  should  be  done.  The  existence  of  a  body 
of  Methodists  in  Virginia  whose  preachers,  at  the  importunity 
of  their  people,  had  ordained  each  other  in  order  that  their 
congregations  should  no  longer  be  deprived  of  the  ordinances 
of  the  gospel,  showed  that  the  Anglicanism  of  one  man  would 
not  much  longer  be  allowed  to  stand  between  the  flock  of  Christ 
and  the  rights  and  privileges  conveyed  to  them  by  the 
Chief  Shepherd  himself.  But  Wesley  had  been  divinely  lifted 
out  of  the  bondage  of  churchly  tradition,  and  was  now  about 
to  take  his  stand  as  a  leader  of  the  Lord's  host.  Such  was  the 
momentous  message  which  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  charged 
to  convey  with  all  speed  to  all  the  preachers  within  reach, 
on  the  appearance  of  the  envoy  of  Mr.  Wesley  in  America, 
To  this  call,  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  nearly  three- 
fourths  of  the  American  Methodist  ministry  responded. 

The  chief  interest  on  this  memorable  occasion  centers 
around  two  great  personages;  the  Eev.  Thomas  Coke,  D.  C.  L., 
and  plain  Brother  Francis  Asbury.  The  first  of  these  was  Mr. 
Wesley's  envoy  extraordinary,  who  was  charged  with  the 
momentous  mission  of  setting  up  a  semi-Anglican  and  wholly 
apostolic  order  of  ministry  for  the  Methodists  in  America.  The 
other  was  a  transformed  as  well  as  a  transported  English  Meth- 
odist preacher;  a  man  of  the  people,  in  whom  nature  and  grace 
had  made  ample  compensation  for  lack  of  scholastic  learning 
and  churchly  orders  and  degrees. 

No  better  choice  of  an  envoy  could  have  been  made.  The 
autocrat  of  all  the  Methodists  sent,  as  his  official  representative, 
to  his  willing  subjects  in  the  New  World,  the  foremost  man 
in  all  his  spiritual  realm.  He  was  of  a  highly  respectable 
family.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Ox- 
ford. He  was  a  doctor  of  civil  law.  He  was  a  presbyter  of 
the  Established  Church  of  England.  From  that  day  to  this 
no  Methodist  preacher  has  ever  carried  such  a  combination  of 
powers  and  honors.  It  was  through  this  fittest  medium  that 
the  orders  of  deacon  and  elder  were  to  be  transmitted  from 
that  man  who  had  proved  his  right  to  hold  and  give  them. 
And  then,  besides  there  was  that  other  ministerial  degree  to 


238 


The  General  Conference. 


be  conferred,  viz.,  the  General  Superintendency  over  all  the 
Methodists  in  America. 

All  this,  and  much  besides,  was  duly  celebrated  and  per- 
formed at  the  Christmas  Conference — a  very  "General"  Con- 
ference, to  say  the  least — and  upon  the  basis  of  the  facts  here 
recited  stands  the  visible  succession  from  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  of  all  the  thousands  of  deacons,  elders,  and  general 
superintendents,  or  bishops,  in  both  sections  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

To  any  who  object,  in  view  of  these  facts,  that  the  Meth- 
odist clergy  is  not  in  "'regular  orders,"  it  may  be  replied:  It 
is  not  to  the  Anglicaniim  of  John  "Wesley  that  Episcopal 
Methodism  refers  for  the  apostolic  basis  of  its  succession,  but 
to  the  manifest  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  that  was  upon  him, 
and  to  his  providential  leadership  in  the  Church  of  Christ 
at  a  time  when  the  "regular"  ministry  of  the  "Established 
Church"  was  in  a  state  of  declension  amounting  almost  to 
decay.  It  is  Bishop  Burnet,  one  of  their  own  prelates,  who  says 
that  under  the  power  and  guidance  of  this  "regular"  priest- 
hood the  people  of  England  had  sunk  into  barbarism,  or  into 
a  condition  little  to  be  distinguished  from  barbarism. 

From  all  this,  and  a  mass  of  other  similar  testimony,  it  is 
manifest  that  the  "regular  clergy"  in  Great  Britain  had  almost 
wholly  lost  the  apostolic  spirit,  and  that  there  was  unspeakable 
need  of  a  revival  thereof.  This  revival  the  Head  of  the  Church 
was  mercifully  pleased  to  give  in  the  person  and  career  of  John 
Wesley,  in  whom,  as  in  no  other  man  since  apostolic  days, 
"the  marks  of  an  apostle"  appeared.  But  it  is  to  be  held  in 
mind  that  the  Xew  Testament  does  not  contain  the  word 
"succession,"  nor  any  word  akin  to  it,  as  it  is  used  by  High 
Church  pretenders.  Yet  if  there  be  any  virtue  and  any  force 
in  a  human  succession  of  ministerial  orders,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  through  those  truly  apostolic  men,  John 
"Wesley,  Thomas  Coke,  and  Francis  Asbury,  holds  the  best 
succession  that  has  been  known  in  modern  times. 

In  all  the  differences  of  opinion  among  those  who  may  be 
called  "original  Methodists"  in  America,  no  contention  has 
arisen  over  the  regularity  and  validity  of  the  orders  transmitted 
by  Wesley  to  the  American  clergy.    Strawbridge,  that  warm- 


The  Ministry. 


239 


hearted  Irish  rebel,  who  celebrated  both  sacraments  in  Mary- 
land with  perfect  freedom,  in  spite  of  the  commands  of  Wesley 
and  hi6  helpers,  did  not  deny  the  apostleship  of  the  great  Meth- 
odist leader.  O'Kelley,  with  all  his  "Republican  Methodism/' 
accepted  the  spiritual  headship  of  this  modern  apostle;  though 
denying  his  claim  to  prelatical  powers.  The  Christmas  Confer- 
ence raised  no  question  as  to  the  essential  value  and  authority 
of  Wesleyan  ordination,  though  many  of  its  members  were 
quite  familiar  with  the  exclusive  claims  of  the  Anglican  clergy. 
Nor  yet  has  any  subsequent  General  Conference  held  any  seri- 
ous discussion  on  the  topic  of  ministerial  "succession."  With 
"the  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  the  power  of  God"  attend- 
ing their  ministry,  this  Church  is  entitled  to  trace  its  lineage 
straight  up  to  Christ  in  glory,  without  making  any  halt  at 
Canterbury  or  Rome.  The  use  of  prayer-book  forms  in  cele- 
brating the  sacraments  and  conferring  ordinations  is  merely 
traditional.  The  authority  for  it  is  not  Wesleyan  or  Anglican. 
The  General  Conference  holds  all  this  ritualism  in  its  hands, 
and  at  its  pleasure  may  make  changes  in  it,  as  has  been  done 
before,  or  even  abolish  it  altogether.  Thus  with  sacraments 
and  orders  the  power  of  the  General  Conference  begins. 

THE  EPISCOPACY. 

xhe  relations  between  the  two  chief  factors  in  Methodist 
Church  government  furnish  matter  for  careful  study.  As  these 
relations  begin  with  the  Christmas  Conference  it  will  be  allow- 
able, without  going  into  the  question  of  the  exact  status  of 
that  most  memorable  assembly,  to  treat  of  the  data  afforded 
by  it  bearing  upon  one  of  the  sections  of  the  present  chapter. 

It  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Wesley  intended  that  the  preach- 
ers should  be  assembled  to  witness — certainly  not  to  pass  upon — 
the  ordination  of  Francis  Asbury  as  deacon  and  elder,  and  his 
investment  with  the  office  of  "general  superintendent."  Wes- 
ley had  a  poor  opinion  of  Conferences.  They  were  apt  to 
become  troublesome.  They  did  not  always  know  and  keep 
their  proper  place.  But  Asbury  was  of  a  different  mind.  The 
splendid  service  rendered  by  his  heroic  band  of  itinerants  had 
greatly  raised  them  in  his  estimation,  and  when  Dr.  Coke  pro- 


240 


The  General  Conference. 


posed  to  make  him  one  of  Mr.  "Wesley's  two  vicegerents  over 
them — Coke  himself  being  the  other — he  took  that  irrevocable 
step  which,  once  and  for  all,  placed  the  General  Conference 
at  the  head  of  the  government  of  the  Church.  At  this  point, 
as  has  been  well  shown  by  Dr.  Xeely  in  his  "Governing  Con- 
ference," the  Wesleyan  autocracy  was  first  compelled  to  divide 
its  plenary  powers  with  the  ministerial  body  in  America. 

The  progress  and  result  of  this  Methodist  revolution  must 
at  first  be  traced  in  the  career  of  Dr.  Coke,  who  assumed  to  be 
the  senior  officer  and  the  supreme  power  in  the  infant  Church. 
In  the  first  of  these  claims  he  was  right.  In  the  second  he  was 
wrong.  And  it  took  him  nearly  all  the  remainder  of  his  life 
to  find  out  his  mistake.  As  between  the  authority  of  Asbury 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  General  Conference  on  the  other, 
there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  dispute.  But  his  senior 
colleague  had  been  much  in  the  society  and  service  of  Wesley, 
and  innocently  enough  imagined  that  he  was  to  be  his  great 
chief  over  again  in  the  Methodism  across  the  sea. 

So  grand  a  character  and  so  great  a  career  as  that  of  the 
first  Wesleyan  bishop  must  ever  hold  an  honored  place  in  his- 
tory. He  touches  the  life  of  the  body  at  a  tender  point.  He 
stands  as  a  sort  of  godfather  to  the  infant  Church  on  the  occa- 
sion of  its  christening,  which  little  one  he  regarded  as  in  a 
kind  of  orphanage,  absent  from  Wesley  and  absent  from  Britain, 
and  to  it  he  was  moved  to  pour  out  the  love  of  his  great,  affec- 
tionate heart,  asking  in  return  only  one  thing — obedience. 
Against  such  a  view  of  the  case  the  sturdy  backwoodsmen  in- 
stinctively protested. 

Here  were  about  sixty  unlearned,  uncouth,  unordained,  itin- 
erant preachers,  assembled  in  what  they  called  a  "Conference;" 
and  these  men  had  been  called  together  to  pass  upon  the  acts 
which  he  held  full  power  to  perform  without  any  of  their  inter- 
ference or  help.  The  situation  was  startling,  and  this  great 
man  must  have  been  more  than  human  if  he  had  not  felt  con- 
scious of  the  vast  distance  between  himself  and  the  subjects 
over  which,  in  the  name  of  Wesley,  he  had  come  to  reign.  He 
was  also  rich,  according  to  the  estimate  of  those  times;  while 
the  preachers,  as  a  rule,  owned  little  in  the  world  besides  a 
horsp  a  saddle,  a  bridle,  and  a  pair  of  capacious  saddlebags, 


The  Ministry. 


241 


with  whatever  wardrobe  and  library  could  be  stowed  therein. 
The  idea  that  such  a  body  as  this  should  presume  to  pass  upon 
the  question  whether  the  appointment  of  John  Wesley,  in  the 
case  of  Francis  Asbury,  should  stand  or  fall,  was  too  much  for 
him  to  comprehend. 

Further  along  in  the  procession  of  surprises  he  learned  that 
the  bishops  were  not  only  elected  by,  but  responsible  for  their 
conduct  to,  the  General  Conference.  At  the  session  of  1796 
the  Conference  even  laid  hands  on  the  Episcopal  Address,  and 
"retouched"  it,  as  the  record  shows,  according  to  their  good 
will  and  pleasure.  Again,  following  the  example  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
the  bishops  prepared  some  "Notes  on  the  Discipline."  As  Coke 
was  almost  the  only  Methodist  scholar  on  the  continent,  it  is 
fair  to  presume  that  he  was  the  chief  author  of  those  Targums, 
of  which  fact  there  is  also  internal  evidence.  These  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  permitted  to  appear  in  the  tenth  edition  of  the 
Discipline,  published  in  1796,  but  never  afterwards.  Imagine 
a  committee  of  preachers  in  London  dictating  to  John  Wesley 
as  to  the  contents  of  "The  Large  Minutes!" 

In  spite  of  all  this,  and  a  great  deal  more  besides,  the  good 
man  never  could  comprehend  the  situation,  though  whenever 
the  truth  did  dawn  upon  him  he  did  not  refuse  to  admit  it.* 

One  act  of  Bishop  Coke  cost  the  Episcopacy  a  sharp  re- 
striction of  power.  It  was  at  first  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the 
bishops  to  appoint  Conference  sessions  at  such  times  and  places 
as  suited  their  convenience.  During  the  year  1786-7  Bishop 
Coke  strained  this  power  so  far  as  to  change  the  times  and 
places  of  some  sessions  which  had  been  fixed  by  the  Confer- 
ence itself,  for  which  offense  complaint  was  made  against  him 
at  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  that  year,  on  the  ground  that 


*Bisbop  McTyeire,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  a  foot- 
note to  page  374  of  his  valuable  "  History  of  Methodism,"  relates  the  following 
incident:  Dr.  Coke  had,  at  a  session  of  the  General  Conference,  introduced  a 
proposition  which  seemed  a  little  dictatorial ;  whereupon  an  Irish  member,  who 
had  formerly  been  a  Roman  Catholic,  called  out,  "Popery!  popery!  popery!" 
While  the  Conference  was  now  in  a  state  of  great  suspense  and  agitation,  Dr. 
Coke  seized  the  paper  containing  his  own  resolution,  and,  tearing  it  up,  not  in 
the  most  moderate  manner,  looked  rouud  upon  the  preachers  and  said:  "Do 
you  think  yourselves  equal  to  me?"  Nelson  Reed,  one  of  the  great  men  of 
that  day,  instantly  rose,  and,  turning  to  Bishop  Asbury,  who  was  also  present, 
said:  "Dr.  Coke  has  asked  whether  we  think  ourselves  equal  to  him.  I  answer, 
Yes,  we  do  think  ourselves  equal  to  him,  notwithstanding  he  has  been  edu- 
cated at  Oxford,  and  has  been  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 
And  more  than  that,  we  think  ourselves  equal  to  Dr.  Coke's  king."  The  doc- 
tor yielded,  asked  pardon  of  the  Conference  for  his  abrupt  and  impulsive  dem- 
onstration, and  thus'the  matter  ended. 

16 


242 


The  General  Conference. 


"he  had  taken  upon  himself  a  right  which  the  Conference 
never  gave  him." 

At  the  same  session  it  was  also  alleged  that  he  had  written 
improper  letters  to  some  of  the  preachers,  "such  as  were  calcu- 
lated to  stir  up  strife  and  contention  among  them."  Seeing 
that  the  assembly  was  pretty  generally  united  against  him,  he 
gave  them  a  written  promise  not  to  repeat  the  offenses  com- 
plained of,  and  never  to  exercise  any  authority  whatever  over 
the  societies  in  America  during  his  absence  from  that  country. 
This  quieted  the  contention;  but  it  was  not  very  long  before  the 
power  of  fixing  the  times,  places,  and  boundaries  of  annual 
conferences  passed  wholly  into  the  hands  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. (Lee's  Short  History  of  the  Methodists,  pp.  124-5.) 
The  first  of  these  powers  was  restored  to  the  bishops,  but  the 
other  two  still  remain  with  the  General  Conference. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  such  prelacy  on  the  part  of  an  English- 
man would  be  sharply  resented  by  a  Conference  composed  of 
new-made  citizens  of  the  great  Republic;  and  that  a  state  of 
strained  relations  would  come  to  exist  between  the  two  chief 
governing  powers  of  the  Church.  The  ministry  were  grateful 
to  the  TTesleyan  envoy,  through  whom  they  had  received  their 
"regular  orders/'  and  those  who  came  to  know  him  best  be- 
lieved in  him  as  truly  a  man  of  God.  But  Coke  was  only  bishop 
by  courtesy.  He  had  never  been  elected  to  that  office,  though 
unanimously  received  as  a  bishop  by  the  General  Conference; 
and  as  the  increasing  coolness  between  him  and  his  American 
brethren  increased  he  naturally  preferred  to  reside  in  England, 
and  did  not  bring  his  heart  with  him  when  he  came  across  the 
sea.  Thus  he  lost  grade  and  ground  continually,  until  the  cry, 
"Xo  more  English  bishops!"  began  to  be  heard  among  a  party 
of  the  preachers,  chief  of  whom  was  the  brilliant  Jesse  Lee. 

The  difference  between  the  first  two  general  superintendents 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  may  be  stated  in  a  single 
sentence.  Asbury  had  been  Americanized,  Coke  was  always  an 
Englishman.  Aside  from  this,  and  away  from  all  questions  of 
episcopal,  as  opposed  to  conference  authority,  Dr.  Coke  was 
a  lovable  Christian,  and,  at  times,  a  heavenly  preacher.  In 
all  other  respects  except  this  one  he  might  have  been  called  a 
sanctified  man.    Consecrated  he  certainly  was;  devoting  his 


The  Ministry. 


243 


whole  fortune  to  his  great  missionary  projects,  and  dying  at  last 
on  his  way  to  India,  in  which  country  he  had  laid  out  the  work 
that  stands  as  his  monument  to-day. 

It  ought  to  be  stated  in  this  connection  that  Dr.  Coke  was 
not  the  first  man  to  arouse  the  spirit  of  resistance  towards  the 
Wesleyan  autocracy.  Rankin,  who  had  been  sent  over  to  govern 
in  Wesley's  name,  had  the  same  masterful  temper,  without 
Coke's  abilities,  of  which  there  is  a  very  broad  hint  in  the 
journals  of  Brother  Asbury.  It  was  not  without  high  provoca- 
tion that  O'Kelly,.  of  whom  it  is  the  fashion  to  say  so  much 
that  is  evil  and  so  little  that  is  good,  raised  the  flag  of  revolt 
against  British  personal  government  in  the  Church.  He  made 
the  mistake  of  overdoing  his  work,  and  thus  made  a  failure, 
where  Lee,  who  was  a  much  greater  man,  made  a  success. 

That  memorable  debate  in  the  General  Conference  of  1796,. 
which  kept  the  body  at  fever  heat  for  two  whole  days,  saved  the 
Church  from  a  crash  that  was  only  feebly  suggested  by  the 
schism  of  O'Kelly.  Coke  was  nominally  successful;  but  the 
outcome  was  the  final  disappearance  of  British  power  over  the 
Church  in  the  United  States.  Some  of  it  reappeared  in  Canada; 
but  the  Western  air  was  not  favorable  to  it,  even  in  British 
America,  and  it  presently  faded  away.  With  men  like  Rankin 
and  Coke  and  Bunting  and  Osborn  in  command,  Episcopacy 
would  first  have  come  to  be  intolerable,  and  then  impossible. 

A  brief  review  of  that  second  crisis  in  the  relations  of  the 
General  Conference  to  the  Episcopacy  is  all  that  can  be  given 
here.  On  account  of  the  failing  health  of  Bishop  Asbury,  and 
the  almost  constant  absence  of  Coke  in  Europe,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  "strengthen  the  Episcopacy."  There  were  several  can- 
didates for  the  succession,  chief  of  whom  wTas  the  brilliant  Vir- 
ginia anti-British  leader,  Jesse  Lee.  His  only  important  com- 
petitor was  Richard  Whatcoat,  the  man  whom,  in  1787,  Mr. 
Wesley  had  sent  over  with  direction  that  he  be  made  general 
superintendent.  This  the  preachers  had  refused  to  do,  fearing 
that  if  it  were  done  Asbury  would  be  recalled  to  England.  Mr. 
Wesley  had  died  in  1791,  and  Coke  was,  by  courtesy,  reckoned 
as  his  representative,  though,  as  already  shown,  much  of  his 
power  had  been  taken  away. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  over  the  election  the  Con- 


244 


The  General  Conference. 


ference  was  startled  by  an  overture  from  Bishop  Coke  in  the 
following  words: 

OVERTURE  OE  BISHOP  COKE. 

"I  offer  myself  to  my  American  brethren  entirely  to  their  serv- 
ice, all  I  am  and  have,  with  iny  talents  and  labors  in  every  respect, 
without  any  mental  reservation  whatever,  to  labor  among  them,  and 
to  assist  Bishop  Asbury;  not  to  station  the  preachers  at  any  time 
when  he  is  present,  but  to  exercise  all  episcopal  duties  when  I  hold 
a  conference  in  his  absence,  and  by  his  consent;  and  to  visit  the 
West  Indies  and  France  when  there  is  an  opening  and  I  can  be 
spared.  (Signed,)      Thomas  Coke. 

"Conference  Room,  Baltimore,  October  27,  1796." 

Only  scanty  reports  of  the  momentous  discussion  on  the 
acceptance  or  rejection  of  this  surprising  overture  are  to  be 
found;  but  it  appears  pjain  that  Coke  was  a  much  more  ob- 
jectionable candidate  than  Whatcoat.  It  must  have  been  a  piti- 
ful sight  to  see  the  great  doctor  pleading  his  own  case  before 
that  once  despised  Conference;  for  he  actually  came  into  the 
presence  of  the  body  for  that  purpose.  He  did  not  hesitate 
to  urge  personal  reasons  why  lie  should  be  received  as  the  co- 
adjutor of  Bishop  Asbury,  saying,  among  other  things:  "I  never 
was  cast  upon  such  a  sea  of  uncertainty  before." 

When  it  became  evident  that  the  Conference  would  reject 
the  overture,  as  they  had  a,  perfect  right  to  do,  since  Coke 
had  never  been  elected  bishop  at  all,  Asbury  came  to  the  rescue 
of  his  friend  in  the  manner  following:  Rising  from  his  chair 
with  evident  effort,  he  said,  with  much  apparent  feeling, 

"If  we  reject  him  it  will  be  his  ruin,  for  the  British  Con- 
ference will  certainly  know  of  it,  and  it  will  sink  him  vastly 
in  their  estimation." 

The  Conference  had  already  asked  Bishop  Asbury  to  nomi- 
nate his  new  colleague,  which  he  had  prudently  declined  to  do. 
This  fact,  together  with  Asbur/s  appeal  to  their  magnanimity, 
turned  the  scale  in  Coke's  favor,  and  he  was  accepted.  But 
it  was  not  the  Coke  of  the  Christmas  Conference.  He  was 
really  beginning  to  understand  and  appreciate  the  Americans, 
but  his  learning  came  too  late.  He  could  not  bear  to  be  only 
tolerated  by  them,  and,  contrary  to  all  new-formed  plans,  he 
soon  returned  again  to  England.   His  British  brethren,  who  best 


The  Miiihtmj. 


245 


knew  his  real  worth,  invited  him  to  remain  with  them,  which 
invitation  he  laid  before  the  Conference  of  1808,  with  the  re- 
sult that  he  was  excused  from  all  further  participation  in 
American  affairs,  and  courteously  commended  to  the  Methodists 
of  the  country  to  which  he  always  really  belonged.  Here  ended 
the  last  attempt  to  set  up  a  Wesleyan  episcopate  in  America. 
The  Church  would  have  none  of  it,  even  though  it  were  repre- 
sented by  so  great  and  learned  and  pious  a  man  as  Thomas 
Coke. 

A  question  now  arises,  the  answer  to  which  will  take  the 
reader  across  the  sea:  What  could  have  been  the  reason  for 
this  remarkable  overture  of  Dr.  Coke  to  the  General  Con- 
ference? 

This  is  a  topic  which  has  a  history  of  its  own,  closely  con- 
nected with  the  subject  now  in  hand.  On  the  death  of  Mr. 
Wesley  in  1791,  Dr.  Coke — they  never  called  him  "bishop" 
in  England — became  the  first  man  in  the  Wesleyan  Conference 
and  connection.  He  was  Wesley's  executor,  and,  along  with 
Dr.  Whitehead  and  Henry  Moore,  had  charge  of  all  the  Wes- 
leyan literary  remains.  Mr.  Wesley's  death  occurred  on  the 
2d  of  March,  and  on  the  22d  of  July  the  British  Conference 
opened  at  Manchester,  with  William  Thompson  as  president, 
and  Dr.  Thomas  Coke  as  secretary. 

The  societies  were  already  in  a  state  of  ferment.  Two 
parties  had  been  formed:  one,  including  the  wealthier  mem- 
bers, desiring  to  go  back  as  far  as  possible  to  the  churchman- 
ship  of  Wesley  in  his  early  and  middle  life;  the  other,  deter- 
mined to  push  on  in  the  direction  of  his  later  progress  towards 
absolute  separation  from  the  Established  Church.  The  Con- 
ference managed  to  keep  the  peace  until  the  end  of  the  session, 
but  after  its  adjournment  the  strife  broke  out  afresh. 

The  leader  of  the  progressive  party  was  Adam  Clarke,  to 
which,  by  force  of  his  position,  Dr.  Coke  belonged,  though  he 
was  not  a  violent  party  man.  After  three  years  of  strife,  as 
no  basis  of  harmony  could  be  reached,  a  memorial  was  presented 
to  the  conference  of  1794,  setting  forth  the  fact  that  Meth- 
odism possessed  an  Episcopacy  in  the  person  of  Thomas  Coke, 
whom  Wesley  had  ordained  as  "general  superintendent"  for 
America;  and  in  the  person  of  Alexander  Mather,  whom  he  had 


246 


The  General  Conference. 


ordained  for  similar  service  in  Great  Britain.  The  memorialists 
went-  on  to  suggest  that  the  United  Kingdom  be  divided  into 
eight  districts;  that  the  two  men  already  in  highest  orders 
should  ordain  six  others  to  a  Wesleyan  Episcopate,  and  that 
these  eight  should  reside  in,  and  preside  over,  the  eight  districts, 
subject  to  the  appointment  of  the  conference.  And  all  this 
was  to  be  done  without  separating  the  Methodists  from  the 
communion  of  the  Established  Church. 

Along  this  line  the  battle  raged  anew,  until,  at  the  con- 
ference of  1795,  a  "Plan  of  Pacification"  was  enacted,  accord- 
ing to  which  all  full  members  of  the  conference  were  allowed 
to  administer  the  sacraments;  and  the  conference  itself 'was 
authorized  to  ordain  the  preachers,  without  reference  to  either 
"Wesleyan  or  x\nglican  Episcopacy.  This  was  the  death-blow  to 
the  hopes  of  "Superintendent  Coke."  He  never  could  be  the 
episcopal  successor  of  John  Wesley.  The  preachers  knew  the 
British  blood  too  well  to  trust  any  of  their  number  with  such 
powers.  One  emperor  had  been  essential;  but,  having  been 
somewhat  filled  with  him,  they  were  determined  never  to  have 
another.  To  make  this  assurance  doubly  sure  it  was  enacted 
that  any  one  who  should  renew  the  agitation  over  what  was 
called  "The  Old  Plan"  and  "The  New  Plan,"  should  be  ex- 
pelled from  the  Connection. 

With  this  door  shut  behind  him,  Dr.  Coke  returned  again 
to  America  in  time  for  the  Conference  of  1796,  and  as  that  body 
was  about  to  "strengthen  the  Episcopacy,"  he  surprised  it  with 
the  overture  whose  interior  history  has  thus  been  briefly  given. 
This  explains  "the  sea  of  uncertainty"  upon  which  Dr.  Coke 
was  cast;  shows  why  he,  who  did  not  enjoy  America  or  Ameri- 
cans, was  desirous  of  making  his  permanent  home  in  that 
country,  and  makes  clear  the  meaning  of  that  plea  of  his  good 
friend  Asbury,  on  the  strength  of  which  the  General  Confer- 
ence, almost  in  spite*  of  itself,  accepted  him  as  coadjutor 
bishop.* 

*When  the  American  delegates  to  the  first  Ecumenical  Conference,  in 
1881,  appeared  at  the  opening  service  they  found  one  of  those  old  roots  of 
bitterness  remaining.  According  to  cue  custom  at  the  City  Road  Chapel,  the 
service  began  with  reading  the  liturgy  out  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer. 
At  the  chief  of  the  Wesleyan  chapels  in  London  this  remnant  of  "the  old 
plan  "  remains,  but  in  all  the  humbler  places  of  Methodist  worship  in  Eng- 
land it  is  "the  new  plan"  which  prevails.  Tt  may  be  well  to  sidd  that,  at  the 
request  of  the  foreign  delegates,  this  part  of  the  program  was,  after  the  first 
morning,  omitted. 


The  Ministry. 


247 


Notwithstanding  the  cry,  "No  more  British  bishops," 
Richard  Whatcoat,  another  of  Mr.  Wesley's  missionaries,  was 
elected  to  the  episcopate  at  the  General  Conference  of  1800. 
He  was  a  man  of  the  Fletcher  stamp,  sweet  and  gentle;  his 
rejection  on  a  former  occasion  also  counted  in  his  favor,  and 
he  was  cordially  received  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  well- 
known  choice  of  Asbury  was  Jesse  Lee.  But  he  had  proved 
himself  to  be  a  devoted  and  lovable  servant  of  the  Lord,  and 
when  the  decisive  vote  was  announced  it  stood  fifty-nine  for 
Whatcoat,  and  fifty-five  for  Lee. 

Heaven  seemed  to  ratify  the  choice;  for  that  session  of  the 
General  Conference  was  distinguished  above  all  others,  before 
or  since,  by  a  mighty  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  in  which 
it  was  estimated  that  two  hundred  souls  were  converted — nearly 
twice  the  number  of  the  members  of  the  body,  which  was  one 
hundred  and  nineteen.  Such  a  divine  awakening  must  have 
shaken  the  little  city  of  Baltimore  from  center  to  circumference. 
It  also  seems  to  have  allayed  the  agitation  over  "British 
bishops/'  and  although  Whatcoat  died  after  only  six  years  of 
episcopal  service,  on  July  5,  1806,  his  influence  in  the  Church, 
at  that  critical  and  formative  period  of  its  history,  may  be  set 
down  as  inferior  to  that  of  no  other  man  except  that  of  As- 
bury  himself. 

THE  RESTRICTIVE  RULES. 

And  now,  at  the  General  Conference  of  1808  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  appears  a  surprising  event  in  General  Conference 
history.  When  was  it  ever  heard,  except  in  this  case,  that  a 
legislative  body,  being  the  absolute  master  of  the  situation, 
voluntarily  surrendered  a  portion  of  its  own  power,  and  that, 
too,  without  any  possible  advantage  in  return?  If  the  action 
stood  alone  it  would  be  incomprehensible,  but  taken  in  con- 
nection with  one  which  preceded  it  at  this  memorable  session, 
the  mystery  partially  disappears. 

On  the  third'  day  of  the  session,  May  9th,  a  memorial  was 
presented  by  the  New  York  Annual  Conference,  setting  forth 
that  the  increasing  extent  of  the  fields  occupied  by  the  Church 
must  soon  render  a  general  assembling  of  the  preachers  im- 
possible. It  therefore  proposed  the  inauguration  of  a  delegated 
General  Conference.    Two  or  three  other  annual  conferences 


248 


The  General  Conference. 


had  given  in  their  adhesion  to  the  measure,  and  its  eventual 
adoption  was  a  foregone  conclusion. 

Careful  preparation  for  the  event  had  evidently  been  made 
in  the  interest  of  the  conservative  party,  chief  of  whom,  a't  that 
period,  was  Joshua  Soule.  This  great  man  was  born  in  the 
Province  of  Maine  in  1781.  He  was  a  preacher  at  the  age  of 
seventeen,  and  a  presiding  elder  at  twenty-three.  He  had 
only  just  dawned  upon  the  Church.  This  was  his  first  appear- 
ance at  General  Conference;  but  it  would  appear  that  Asbury, 
who  was  quick  to  discern  superior  talent,  took  the  young  man 
into  his  confidence;  and  it  is  to  these  two  men  that  the  chief 
honor  (or  otherwise)  of  framing  and  setting  up  what  is  now 
called  "The  Constitution"  is  due. 

But  why  should  it  have  been  thought  possible  to  persuade 
a  Conference  to  reduce  its  own  powers? 

The  answer  is  not  far  to  seek.  The  body,  as  an  actual 
General  Conference,  was  about  to  prepare  for  its  own  funeral. 
Only  seven  elders  of  an  annual  conference  out  of  fifty,  with  one 
additional  for  every  ten  members  above  that  number,  were 
thenceforth  to  constitute  the  governing  body  of  the  Church. 
Five  out  of  six  of  the  men  who  were  (entitled  to  be)  present  at 
that  time  would  never  be  in  the  place  of  power  again.  A  new 
class  of  legislators  was  to  be  created,  and  it  might  not  be  amiss 
to  regulate  them  a  little.  There  was  to  be  a  break  in  the  suc- 
cession. The  Conference  of  1808  was  not  surrendering  a  part 
of  its  own  plenary  powers,  but  was  providing  that  equal  powers 
with  themselves  should  never  be  exercised  again. 

There  was  also  plainly  visible,  in  the  background  of  this 
memorable  picture,  the  work  of  the  episcopate  for  the  protec- 
tion of  its  own  office  against  the  dangers  which  might  befall  it 
at  the  hands  of  the  new  Conference.  It  was  possible  to  reckon 
on  what  the  whole  body  of  preachers  would  do;  but  who  could 
predict  the  kind  of  majorities  that  might  come  of  selected 
classes  of  legislators,  sent  up  by  excitable  annual  conferences? 

In  the  Journal  of  the  session  of  1808,  pages  78  and  79,  the 
following  records  occur: 

"Tuesday,  May  10th." 

"Bishop  Aslmry  having  called  for  the  mind  of  the  Conference 
whether  any  further  regulation  of  the  order  of  General  Conference 
be  necessary,  the  question  was  put  and  carried  in  the  affirmative."' 


The  Ministry. 


249 


"Moved  by  Stephen  G.  Roszel,  and  seconded  by  William  Burke, 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  such  regulations  as  they 
may  think  best,  to  regulate  the  General  Conferences,  and  report  the 
same  to  this  body.  Carried." 

"Moved  by  Bishop  Asbury  that  the  committee  be  formed  from 
an  equal  number  from  each  of  the  annual  conferences.  Carried. 

Accordingly  a  committee  of  fourteen,  two  from  each  of 
the  annual  conferences  then  in  existence,  was  formed. 

On  Tuesday,  May  24th,  they  presented  their  report.  An- 
other report  was  at  the  time  under  consideration,  whereupon  it 
was  "moved  by  the  chair  that  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
Eeview  (of  manuscript  hymns)  lie  on  the  table  until  the  regula- 
tions concerning  the  General  Conference  be  determined. 
Carried."  (Journal,  1808,  p.  87.)  Thus  for  the  third  time  the 
fingers  of  the  episcopal  hand  appear. 

But  there  was  no  contention.  A  delegated  Conference  was 
inevitable.  There  never  had  been  any  strife  over  the  Articles  of 
Religion  or  the  General  Eules;  and  now  that  the  cry  against 
"British  bishops"  had  passed  out  of  date,  there  was  nothing 
in  the  proposed  "regulations"  to  excite  alarm.  Lee  himself 
was  in  favor  of  them.  Thus  the  whole  paper  was  adopted, 
article  by  article,  without  debate,  and  the  bishopric  was  safe. 

If  any  one  is  inclined  to  question  the  right  of  the  General 
Conference  of  1808  to  anchor  the  future  to  the  past,  it  may  be 
replied:  The  unwritten  statute  which  affirms  that  "no  Gen- 
eral Conference  can  bind  its  successor,"  was  not  known  at  that 
period.  Besides,  the  actual  General  Conference  was  closing 
its  career;  its  successor  would  be  "General"  only  in  name.  A 
new  era  was  about  to  dawn  in  Methodist  legislation,  and  so 
complete  was  the  consensus  of  the  Church  in  favor  of  this  new 
chapter  in  the  Discipline,  that  even  the  General  Conference 
of  1812  did  not  complain  of  the  limitation  of  their  powers. 

Another  important  action  at  the  Conference  of  1808  was 
the  vote  on  the  question  of  the  election  of  presiding  elders; 
a  measure  that  has,  in  subsequent  sessions  of  the  great  Council, 
persistently  appeared  and  reappeared.  The  proposal  was  urged 
by  some  of  those  who  had  sympathized  with  the  radicals  in  the 
O'Kelley  controversy,  but  there  was  not  enough  of  that  leaven 
in  the  house  to  leaven  a  majority  of  the  lump.  A  further  refer- 
ence to  this  case  will  be  made  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  MINISTRY  (Coxtixued). 

FACING  DOWN  A  CONFERENCE. 

'*^VFO  question  is  settled  until  it  is  settled  right." 

-L-^  Whether  or  not  this  proverb  covers  the  topic  of  an  elect- 
ive presiding  eldership,  certain  it  is,  that  this  question  has  a  very 
persistent  life.  At  the  General  Conference  of  1820,  held  in  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  it  reappeared  more  vigorous  than  ever,  in 
spite  of  the  rebuff  it  had  received  in  1808.  And  here  again  it 
is  bound  up  with  the  episcopate  in  the  most  conspicuous  manner. 

Joshua  Soule,  the  reputed  author  of  the  "Constitution"  of 
1808,  was  in  1820  elected  bishop.  Out  of  a  total  of  eighty-eight 
votes  he  received  forty-seven.  This  was  on  Saturday,  May  13th. 
Six  days  later  a  special  committee,  to  whom  had  been  referred 
some  papers  on  the  election  of  presiding  elders,  made  their 
report,  the  chief  provision  whereof  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of 
sixty-one  to  twenty-five.  This  was  to  the  effect  that  the  bishop 
presiding  in  an  annual  conference  might  nominate  three  times 
the  number  of  presiding  elders  required,  out  of  which  lists  the 
conference  should  elect  the  requisite  number.  Upon  this  Soule 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  bishops,  requesting  the  postponement  of 
his  ordination.  He  challenged  the  right  of  the  Conference  to 
limit  the  power  of  the  episcopate,  and  declared  that,  as  an  in- 
cumbent of  that  office,  he  should  not  feel  himself  bound  to 
obey  the  order  in  question.  Thus  the  old  battle  was  again  set 
in  order. 

Soule  was  a  man  who  had  the  courage  of  his  opinions,  and, 
as  already  seen,  he  was  the  leader  of  the  episcopal  party.  As 
the  contest  went  on,  the  majority  weakened  before  the  face  of 
this  determined  man,  and  instead  of  rescinding  his  election, 
and  choosing  another  bishop,  a  motion  was  brought  forward  to 
reconsider  the  action  of  the  Conference,  against  which  his  ex- 
ception had  been  taken.  Twice  this  motion  came  to  a  vote, 
and  twice  it  resulted  in  a  tie,  although  the  measure  had 
originally  been  passed  by  a  vote  of  nearly  three  to  one.  The 

250 


The  Ministry. 


251 


second  tie  was  decided  adversely  by  the  chair;  on  the  ground 
that,  as  the  motion  to  reconsider  did  not  have  a  majority,  it 
therefore  did  not  prevail.  Finally,  just  before  adjournment, 
the  resignation  of  the  bishop  elect  was  accepted,  but  not  until 
after  the  question  raised  by  him,  as  to  the  veto  powers  of  the 
bishops,  had  been  referred  to  the  annual  conferences. 

That  Soule  did  not  lose  caste  by  his  bold  stand,  and  that 
the  episcopate  stood  heartily  with  him,  appears  from  the  fact 
that,  at  the  final  session,  he  was  made  chairman  of  a  committee 
"to  assist  the  episcopacy  to  revise  the  form  of  Discipline,  and 
to  conform  it  to  the  regulations  and  resolutions  of  this  Con- 
ference." At  the  session  of  1824  it  was  reported  that  the  an- 
nual conferences  "had  judged  the  election  of  presiding  elders 
to  be  unconstitutional;"  whereupon  the  Conference  voted  that 
the  favorable  action  at  the  session  of  1820  "was  not  of  authority, 
and  should  not  be  carried  into  effect."  After  this  Soule  was 
triumphantly  elected  to  the  episcopate  again,  along  with  that 
other  majestic  man  from  New  England,  Elijah  Hedding. 

And  now  it  might  have  been  supposed  that  the  episcopate 
was  stronger  than  ever.  But  the  senior  member  of  the  Board 
was  growing  old;  the  next  two  men,  George  and  Roberts,  never 
made  any  very  great  impression  upon  the  Church;  Hedding 
lost  some  of  his  power  in  trying  to  quiet  the  agitation  on  the 
subject  of  slavery,  which  then  threatened  the  peace,  if  not  the 
existence  of  the  body,  and  the  progressive  party  was  getting  into 
the  saddle  once  more.  The  two  new  bishops  added  in  1832, 
Andrew  and  Emory,  were  neither  of  them  men  of  the  stamina 
of  Soule  and  Hedding.  Andrew  was  an  element  of  weakness 
because  of  his  relations  to  slavery,  and  Emory  was  better  fitted 
to  be  an  author  than  a  general  superintendent.  Thus  the 
prestige  of  the  episcopate  declined,  and  the  Conference  was  up- 
permost again. 

COMMITTEE  ON  EPISCOPACY. 

Furthermore,  a  new  factor  had  gained  place  in  the  Great 
Council,  to  wit:  The  Committee  on  Episcopacy.  This  body  may 
be  said  to  have  had  its  beginning  at  the  General  Conference  of 
1812;  when  so  much  of  the  address  of  Bishop  McKendree  as 
related  to  the  episcopate  was  referred  to  a  special  committee. 


252 


The  General  Conference. 


Hitherto  such  references  had  been  made  in  an  irregular  way, 
and  thus  they  were  repeated  from  session  to  session. 

On  the  second  day  of  the  Conference  of  1836  six  committees 
were  raised,  in  the  following  order:  Episcopacy,  Itinerancy, 
Boundaries,  Book  Concern,  Education,  and  Missions.  On 
motion  of  Laban  Clark,  these  were  henceforth  to  be  known  and 
published  as  "standing  committees."  Thus  the  permanent  con- 
tinuance and  leading  position  of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy 
was  assured.  Chief  men  of  the  delegations  from  the  annual 
conferences,  in  selecting  their  outside  work,  by  seniority  of 
election,  would  naturally  choose  a  place  on  the  committee  hav- 
ing to  do  with  the  greatest  personages  and  the  most  important 
questions.  Thus  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy  grew  rapidly  in 
power  and  prestige,  until  it  came  to  be  a  kind  of  judicial 
aristocracy  to  which,  for  one  month  in  every  four  years,  even 
a  bishop  must  bow. 

At  the  same  session  the  Judiciary  Committee  was  set  up. 
This,  indeed,  had  not  much  to  do  with  the  episcopate  at  first; 
its  field  of  review  being  the  actions  of  annual  conferences,  from 
which  appeals  had  been  taken  to  the  General  Conference.  But 
the  presence  of  such  a  court  of  appeal  led  to  its  use  in  other 
and  more  important  matters,  and  when,  after  lay  delegation, 
there  came  to  be  eminent  legal  gentlemen  on  its  list,  the 
Judiciary  Committee  began  to  divide  the  legal  honors  of  the 
Church  with  the  officers  who  had  been  accustomed  to  carry 
them  all. 

And  perhaps  this  is  best.  The  Church  has  always  had  faith 
in  its  bishops.  But  it  had  begun  to  be  observed  that  the  long- 
continued  exercise  of  power  tends  to  develop  what  may  be 
called  the  official  sense:  a  peculiar  habit  of  mind  which  leads 
a  man  to  consider  all  subjects  first  as  to  their  bearing  upon  his 
order  or  himself.  For  this  reason,  it  may  be,  that  fewer  ques- 
tions are  now  referred  to  the  bishops,  and  more  to  the  Judiciary 
Committee. 

BISHOPS  OF  TO-DAY. 

It  is  only  in  recent  years  that  writers  of  history  have  been 
expected  to  deal  with  living  men.  To  say  that  one  had  "passed 
into  history"  was  equivalent  to  saying  that  he  was  dead.  Such, 


» 


The  Ministry. 


253 


however,  is  not  the  present  manner  in  historic  literature.  The 
present  age  is  most  interested  in  men  and  women  who  are  most 
alive.  It  will  not,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  discourtesy  if,  in 
these  pages,  the  later  as  well  as  the  earlier  form  of  writing 
occasionally  appears. 

The  subjects  of  slavery  and  lay  delegation,  to  which 
the  episcopate  has  held  most  vital  relations,  will  be  treated  in 
chapters  by  themselves.  Therefore,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
unity  of  subjects,  the  most  of  what  remains  to  be  set  forth  con- 
cerning the  General  Conference  and  Episcopacy  may  be  found 
in  those  connections.  We  are  thus  carried  past  the  stormy 
period  of  1840,  1844,  and  1848,  and  brought  down  to  the  days 
of  bishops  who  are  well  remembered  by  living  men. 

In  1852  the  General  Conference  opened  in  Boston,  under 
the  presidency  of  Bishops  Waugh,  Morris  and  Janes.  It  closed 
with  comparative  peace,  having  added  to  the  list  of  chief  pastor's 
the  names  of  Levi  Scott,  Matthew  Simpson,  Edward  E.  Ames, 
and  Osmon  C.  Baker.  The  number  of  annual  conferences  had 
now  reached  thirty-nine.  Among  the  new  additions  were 
Wyoming  and  California. 

In  Bishop  Simpson  the  episcopate  reached  its  ideal.  In 
his  presence  men  felt  themselves  honored;  and  conferences, 
whether  annual  or  general,  instinctively  paid  him  their  homage 
and  their  love.  But  it  is  not  fair  to  measure  other  men  by  him. 
The  human  race  furnishes  scant  material  out  of  which  char- 
acters are  made.  That  "official  sense"  seems  never  to  have  been 
developed  in  him.  In  his  mind  it  was  as  much  an  instinct  to 
settle  cases  solely  on  tiieir  merits  as  it  was  with  the  mind  of  his 
great  friend  Abraham  Lincoln. 

In  1864  the  noise,  or,  at  least,  the  echoes  of  war  were  heard 
all  over  the  land.  The  General  Conference  met  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  and  elected  three  new  bishops:  Clark,  Thom- 
son, and  Kingsley.  At  the  next  session  the  board  were  desired 
to  extend  their  personal  supervision  over  the  mission  fields  of 
the  Church,  and  Kingsley  was  sent  to  circumnavigate  the  globe, 
via  San  Francisco,  on  that  errand.  Having  visited  the  mis- 
sions in  Japan  and  China,  he  turned  his  face  homeward,  via 
India  and  Palestine.  But  he  was  destined  to  journey  to  a 
holier  land.    On  the  morning  of  April  6,  1870,  he  died  sud- 


254 


The  General  Conference. 


denly  at  Beyrout,  S}*ria,  of  heart  disease.  In  the  Christian 
burial-ground  of  that  city,  among  the  tombs  of  other  mis- 
sionaries who  have  given  their  lives  to  their  work,  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  has  caused  his  monument  to  be  erected  over  his 
grave. 

The  most  important  doing  at  the  Conference  of  1872,  the 
first  at  which  lay  delegates  appeared,  was  the  election  of  eight 
new  bishops;  viz.,  Bowman,  Harris,  Foster,  Wiley,  Merrill,  An- 
drews, Gilbert  Haven,  and  Peck.  As  far  as  the  selection  was 
concerned,  no  other  equal  number  of  equal  men  could  have 
been  found  in  the  Church.  The  question  had  been  referred 
to  the  Episcopal  Board,  ''How  many  new  bishops  are  needed 
for  the  work?"  to  which,  in  due  time,  Bishop  Ames  answered, 
"Eight." 

The  answer  was  a  surprise.  It  was  doubtless  intended  to 
relieve  the  pressure,  which  was  becoming  terrific,  on  the  theory 
that  it  would  be  easier  to  elect  a  large  number  out  of  the 
superabundant  list  of  candidates  than  a  small  number.  Possi- 
bly, also,  it  was  considered  that  such  an  election  would  put 
farther  off  the  distressful  day  when  the  present  scene  might  be 
repeated.  But  for  once  the  profound  sagacity  of  Bishop  Ames 
was  at  fault.  The  question  began  to  be  asked,  "Is  the  Church 
for  the  bishops,  or  are  bishops  for  the  Church?"  The  episco- 
pate, if  strengthened  in  one  way,  was  weakened  in  another. 
Too  many  men  had  been  elected  for  too  many  different  reasons. 
While  the  memory  of  the  General  Conference  of  1872  remains, 
that  act  is  not  likely  to  be  repeated. 

At  this  memorable  session  a  new  "Code  of  Ecclesiastical 
Procedure"  was  adopted.  It  was  prepared  by  a  committee  of 
lecral  gentlemen  from  among  the  lay  delegates,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, was  made  to  conform  to  the  procedure  of  other 
parliamentary  assemblies.  Under  its  operation  the  last  of  the 
special  powers  and  privileges  of  the  bishops,  in  their  capacity 
of  presiding  officers,  disappeared.  They  were  still  allowed  to 
decide  questions  of  law  involved  in  Conference  proceedings; 
but  they  might  no  longer  use  their  position  for  making  motions 
or  speeches,  as  had  been  done  aforetime.  They  could  no  longer 
adjourn  a  Conference,  General  or  annual,  when,  in  their  judg- 
ment, the  legitimate  business  of  the  session  was  finished:  nor 


The  Ministry. 


255 


might  they  refuse  to  put  a  motion  which  they  did  not  regard  as 
legal,  or  as  germane  to  the  business  in  hand. 

At  this  time  the  General  Conference  began  to  determine 
who  of  the  bishops  were  "effective"  and  who  were  "non- 
effective." Places  of  episcopal  residence  were  appointed;  but 
it  was  allowed  that  these  should  be  selected  according  to  senior- 
ity. Thus  one  after  another  of  the  privileges  of  the  office  were 
taken  away,  until  the  episcopate,  as  compared  with  what  it  had 
been  in  the  early  days,  was  somewhat  weak  and  limited.  But 
there  was  still  enough  of  it  left  to  be  desired  as  "a  good  work." 

The  Conference  of  1888  made  the  rule  which  requires  a 
two-thirds  majority  for  the  election  of  bishops,  a  measure  which 
lengthened  the  time  required  for  the  voting,  but  which  gave 
additional  dignity  to  the  office. 

No  important  changes  in  the  relation  of  the  two  branches 
of  Methodist  Church  government  occurred  in  1892.  In  1896, 
according  to  the  rule  already  established,  three  venerable  bish- 
ops— to  wit,  Bowman,  Foster,  and  Taylor — were,  with  all  due 
honor  and  regret,  placed  on  the  non-effective  list.  Thence- 
forward they  were  to  sustain  an  honorary  membership  to  the 
office  which  they  had  so  honorably  filled. 

At  this  session  the  placing  of  an  additional  bishop,  or  bish- 
ops, in  foreign  mission  fields  was  much  considered,  Shanghai 
and  Nagasaki  being  nominated  as  cities  for  episcopal  residence. 
The  proposition  caused  no  little  surprise,  and  even  some  amuse- 
ment; but  the  project  was  ably  supported  by  the  scholarly 
Dr.  Asada,  lay  delegate  from  Japan,  as  well  as  by  an  able  article 
from  the  pen  of  Bishop  Walden  in  one  of  the  Conference  papers. 

The  territory  of  India  is  as  large  as  the  whole  United  States 
of  America  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  From  Karachi  to  Sin- 
gapore, the  two  cities  in  that  Methodist  mission  field  most  remote 
from  each  other,  is  a  longer  distance  than  from  Boston  to  San 
Francisco.  And  there  are  other  episcopal  routes  of  travel  quite 
as  long  in  the  journeys  to  China  and  Japan.  Gradually  the 
General  Conference  is  coming  to  understand  the  geography  of 
world-wide  Methodism,  and  of  it  the  world,  as  well  as  the 
Church,  is  asking  large  things. 

One  minor  incident  in  the  session  of  1896  is  worthy  of 
mention ;  viz.,  the  change  in  the  manner  of  nominating  bishops. 


254 


The  General  Conference. 


denly  at  Beyrout,  Syria,  of  heart  disease.  In  the  Christian 
burial-ground  of  that  city,  among  the  tombs  of  other  mis- 
sionaries who  have  given  their  lives  to  their  work,  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  has  caused  his  monument  to  be  erected  over  his 
grave. 

The  most  important  doing  at  the  Conference  of  1872,  the 
first  at  which  lay  delegates  appeared,  was  the  election  of  eight 
new  bishops;  viz.,  Bowman,  Harris,  Foster,  Wiley,  Merrill,  An- 
drews, Gilbert  Haven,  and  Peck.  As  far  as  the  selection  was 
concerned,  no  other  equal  number  of  equal  men  could  have 
been  found  in  the  Church.  The  question  had  been  referred 
to  the  Episcopal  Board,  "How  many  new  bishops  are  needed 
for  the  work?"  to  which,  in  due  time,  Bishop  Ames  answered, 
"Eight." 

The  answer  was  a  surprise.  It  was  doubtless  intended  to 
relieve  the  pressure,  which  was  becoming  terrific,  on  the  theory 
that  it  would  be  easier  to  elect  a  large  number  out  of  the 
superabundant  list  of  candidates  than  a  small  number.  Possi- 
bly, also,  it  was  considered  that  such  an  election  would  put 
farther  off  the  distressful  day  when  the  present  scene  might  be 
repeated.  But  for  once  the  profound  sagacity  of  Bishop  Ames 
was  at  fault.  The  question  began  to  be  asked,  "Is  the  Church 
for  the  bishops,  or  are  bishops  for  the  Church?"  The  episco- 
pate, if  strengthened  in  one  way,  was  weakened  in  another. 
Too  many  men  had  been  elected  for  too  many  different  reasons. 
"While  the  memory  of  the  General  Conference  of  1872  remains, 
that  act  is  not  likely  to  be  repeated. 

At  this  memorable  session  a  new  ''Code  of  Ecclesiastical 
Procedure"  was  adopted.  It  was  prepared  by  a  committee  of 
legal  gentlemen  from  among  the  lay  delegates,  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, was  made  to  conform  to  the  procedure  of  other 
parliamentary  assemblies.  Under  its  operation  the  last  of  the 
special  powers  and  privileges  of  the  bishops,  in  their  capacity 
of  presiding  officers,  disappeared.  They  were  still  allowed  to 
decide  questions  of  law  involved  in  Conference  proceedings; 
but  they  might  no  longer  use  their  position  for  making  motions 
or  speeches,  as  had  been  done  aforetime.  They  could  no  longer 
adjourn  a  Conference,  General  or  annual,  when,  in  their  judg- 
ment, the  legitimate  business  of  the  session  was  finished;  nor 


CORRECTION  TO  BE  MADE. 


In  the  last  paragraph  on  page  255,  for  "bishops"  read:  "all 
the  officers  to  be  elected  by  the  General  Conference,  except  the 
bishops."  And  in  the  same  paragraph,  top  of  page  256,  read: 
"candidates  for  office,"  instead  of  "candidates  for  this  high 
office." 


256 


The  General  Conference. 


In  former  Conferences  there  had  been  a  viva  voce  nomination, 
which  had  become  almost  disgraceful  in  such  a  reverend  and 
honorable  body.  On  this  occasion,  for  the  first  time,  it  was 
ordered  that  those  who  desired  to  present  names  of  candidates 
for  this  high  office  should  do  so  in  writing,  the  names  to  be  read 
by  the  secretary.  This  simple  method  of  bringing  order  out 
of  confusion  suggested  the  regretful  question,  Why  was  not 
this  done  long  ago? 

Although  the  right  of  a  bishop  to  originate  motions,  and 
to  address  the  House  in  the  line  of  its  business  had  long  ago 
been  taken  away,  on  several  recent  occasions  a  bishop,  "by 
request,"  has  made  "a  statement,"  or  "an  explanation,"  which 
was  evidently  intended  to  sway  the  vote  of  the  House;  but  at 
such  times  the  case  he  was  "stating"  or  "explaining"  lost  rather 
than  gained  thereby.  Xotably  was  this  true  at  the  Conference 
of  1892  at  Omaha,  and  that  of  1896  at  Cleveland,  when  the 
final  reports  of  the  Committees  on  Constitution  were  under 
consideration.  The  proposed  measure  would  have  had  the 
effect  to  enlarge  the  area  of  restricted  territory,  and  thus  have 
weakened  the  authority  of  the  General  Conference,  as  was  the 
case  when  the  original  Restrictive  Rules  were  enacted.  On 
this  issue  the  bishops  joined  forces  with  the  committees.  The 
House  treated  the  reports  with  due  respect.  Every  reasonable 
privilege  was  given  to  the  learned  and  laborious  committees; 
but  on  the  last  appearance  of  that  ponderous  document,  near  the 
close  of  the  sessions  of  both  these  Chief  Councils  of  the  Church, 
due  notice  was  served  on  all  concerned  that  not  easily  does  the 
Methodist  General  Conference  part  with  any  more  of  its  power. 

PRESIDING  ELDERSHIP. 

In  the  earlv  days  of  Methodism  in  America  there  was  a 
much  better  understanding  of  the  word  "leadership"  than  there 
ever  has  been  in  later  times.  The  wilderness  was  a  school  in 
which  a  rough  heroism  was  developed.  Thus  the  masterful 
leadership  of  a  presiding  elder  over  the  "saddlebags  men"  of 
his  district  was  as  much  a  matter  of  course  as  was  the  command 
of  a  colonel  over  his  regiment.  Some  of  those  districts  covered 
the  ground  now  occupied  by  three  or  four  Annual  Conferences, 
and  some  had  boundaries  on  two  or  three  sid^s  and  extended  in 


The  Ministry. 


257 


other  directions  as  far  as  the  elder  might  be  able  to  push  his 
w  ay.  This  was  the  case  with  the  great  Western  District  to  which 
the  intrepid  McKendree  was  appointed  by  Bishop  Asbury  in 
1801.  It  embraced  all  the  territory  beyond  the  Alleghanies 
between  Central'  Ohio  and  the  borders  of  Georgia,  and  it  ex- 
tended westward  farther  and  farther  every  day. 

In  1804,  Benjamin  Young  was  appointed  "Presiding  Elder 
of  Illinois,"  his  field  including  about  a  million  of  square  miles. 
Hooper  Crews  traveled  a  triangular  district,  whose  three  points 
were  Milwaukee,  Galena,  and  Cairo.  And  there  was  that  Meth- 
odist Daniel  Boone,  whose  real  name  was  Jesse  Walker,  a  man 
who  appeared  on  the  Illinois  District  in  1806.  He  is  said  to 
have  regarded  roads,  and  even  bridle-paths,  as  useless  luxuries, 
and  he  fairly  reveled  in  the  wild  free  life  of  the  woods. 

Then  at  the  head  of  the  itinerant  army  was  the  bishop, 
a  superior  being  who  was  to  the  preachers  and  people  a  second 
edition  of  Moses,  whom  it  was  an  instinctive  part  of  their  re- 
ligion to  obey.  And  what,  then,  must  a  conference  have  been? 
Even  a  quarterly  conference,  with  the  presiding  elder  present 
to  preach  and  hold  the  love:feast,  and  celebrate  the  holy  com- 
munion, and  baptize  the  infants  and  the  newly-converted,  was 
a  great  occasion,  which  good  Methodists  would  sometimes  ride 
twenty  miles  to  reach.  An  annual  conference  was  an  awe- 
inspiring  body.  The  bishop  himself  was  there,  along  with  per- 
haps four  or  five  presiding  elders  and  twenty  or  thirty  preach- 
ers, an  occasion  memorable  and  mighty. 

But  the  General  Conference!  That  was  something  too  high 
for  ordinary  mortals.  If  a  frontier  Methodist  ever  saw  one 
he  handed  down  the  fact  as  a  family  tradition,  a  token  of  su- 
periority. It  was  in  that  mysterious  realm  that  the  Book  of 
Discipline  was  made.  A  very  little  book  indeed  it  was;  but 
spiritually  great  in  inverse  ratio  to  its  size.  That  was  a  pro- 
found piece  of  Churchly  wisdom  which  led  the  early  Presby- 
terians to  put  forth  "The  Shorter  Cathechism."  The  Larger 
Catechism  alone  never  could  have  dominated  for  a  dozen  gener- 
ations the  theology  of  the  English-speaking  world. 

It  was  at  the  General  Conference  of  1792  that  the  assistant 
bishops,  as  they  might  have  been  called,  received  the  title  of 
"presiding  elders."    The  itinerant  ministry  now  numbered  266, 

17 


258 


The  General  Conference. 


their  fields  of  labor  extending  from  Upper  Canada  and  Xova 
Scotia  down  almost  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Concerning  the 
need  for  this  intermediary  office,  there  was  no  room  for  doubt. 
No  mortal  man,  even  though  that  man  were  Asbury,  could 
superintend  the  whole  of  this  vast  diocese.  There  was  his  col- 
league, Dr.  Coke.  But  he  had  evidently  fulfilled  his  whole 
mission  to  America  when  he  had  conveyed  from  the  apostolic 
Wesley  to  his  "assistant"  in  the  Xew  World  the  order  of  gen- 
eral superintendent  or  bishop. 

The  history  of  the  O'Kelley  schism  draws  attention  to  the 
danger  that  lurks  in  this  high  position ;  that  is  to  say,  the  danger 
that  a  presiding  elder  may,  under  special  temptations,  mistake 
himself  for  a  bishop.  But  temptations  of  this  sort  have  rarely 
been  fatal. 

In  the  American  Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  1792  the 
following  questions  occur: 

"Ques.  1.  By  whom  are  the  presiding  elders  to  be  chosen? 
"Ans.  The  presiding  elders  are  to  be  chosen  by  the  bishops."' 

(In  1872  the  following  words  were  added,  not  by  way  of 
amendment,  but  for  more  complete  expression  of  the  sense  orig- 
inally intended:  "By  whom  they  are  also  to  be  stationed  and 
changed.") 

"Ques.  3.  How  long  may  a  bishop  allow  an  elder  to  preside  in 
the  same  district? 

"Ans.  A  bishop  may  allow  an  elder  to  preside  in  the  same  dis- 
trict for  any  term  not  exceeding  four  years." 

With  the  lengthening  of  the  pastoral  term  to  five  years  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1888,  the  term  of  the  presiding 
eldership  was  lengthened  to  six  years. 

Although  this  office  is  an  intermediate  one  between  the 
bishop  and  the  preacher,  it  belongs  strictly  to  the  episcopate, 
of  which  it  is  the  sole  official  representative.  This  will  appear 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  duties  of  this  officer,  as  laid  down  in 
the  original  statement  thereof,  thus: 

"What  are  the  duties  of  a  presiding  elder? 

"Ans.  I.  To  travel  through  his  appointed  district. 

"II.  In  the  absence  of  the  bishop  to  take  charge  of  all  the 


The  Ministry. 


259 


elders  and  deacons,  traveling  and  local  preachers,  and  exhortcrs  in 
his  district. 

"III.  To  change,  receive,  and  suspend  preachers  in  his  district 
during  the  intervals  of  the  conferences,  and  in  the  absence  of  the 
bishop.  Provided,  however,  that  a  presiding  elder  shall  not  change 
a  preacher  in  his  district  from  a  charge  to  which  he  has  been 
appointed  by  the  bishop,  and  appoint  him  to  another  to  which  he 
could  not  be  legally  appointed  by  the  bishop. 

"V.  To  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the 
Church.   .  .  . 

"VI.  To  take  care  that  every  part  of  our  Discipline  be  enforced 
in  his  district.   .  .  . 

"VII.  It  shall  be  his  further  duty  to  attend  the  bishop  when 
present  in  his  district,  and  to  give  him,  when  absent,  all  necessary 
information  of  the  state  of  his  district."  (Sherman,  "History  of 
Discipline,"  pp.  187-189.) 

It  thus  appears  that,  for  nearly  all  the  time,  the  presiding 
elder  is  bishop  in  his  own  district;  i.  e.,  a  diocesan  bishop  in  the 
absence  of  the  general  superintendent;  and  that  as  such  he  is 
part  and  parcel  of  the  general  superintendency.  Some  verbal 
modifications  have  been  made  at  various  times,  but  none  that 
change  the  relation  of  the  presiding  elder  to  the  episcopate. 
He  is  a  ruler.  He  can  do  all  the  acts  which  a  bishop  can  do 
in  the  absence  of  that  officer,  except  the  act  of  ordination;  and 
so  full  are  the  powers  committed  to  him  that  if  the  state  of 
things  contemplated  in  the  Discipline  were  actually  to  occur — 
viz.,  "if  there  should  be  no  bishop  in  the  Church" — then  the 
presiding  eldership,  as  it  has  existed  from  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1792  down  to  the  present  time,  could  take  up  and 
carry  forward  the  entire  operation  of  the  Church  without  a 
jar  in  its  machinery.  If  the  bishops  are  the  presidents  of  the 
Church,  the  presiding  elders  are  the  vice-presidents,  rightly 
entitled  to  do  all  the  episcopal  work  which  such  a  definition 
of  their  office  would  imply. 

In  point  of  fact  the  presiding  elder  is  the  only  personal 
presentation  of  the  episcopal  office  which  the  vast  majority  of 
the  Church  ever  see,  and  the  only  times  in  all  their  lives  when 
the  great  mass  of  preachers  ever  feel  the  touch  of  an  episcopal 
hand  is  on  the  days  of  their  two  ordinations. 

In  their  "Notes  on  the  Discipline,"  published  in  the  edition 
of  1796 — and  never  afterwards — Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury  say, 


260 


The  General  Conference. 


"When  Mr.  Wesley  drew  up  a  form  of  government  for  our 
Church  in  America  he  desired  that  no  more  elders  should  be 
ordained,  in  the  first  instance,  than  were  absolutely  necessary." 
It  appears  that  it  was  Mr.  Wesley's  idea  that  this  ordination 
was  something  in  the  way  of  exclusive  power  and  dignity,  al- 
most wholly  connected  with  the  administration  of  the  sacra- 
ments; but  the  rapid  extension  of  the  work,  and  the  splendid 
service  rendered  by  these  men  in  "full  orders"  soon  caused  their 
numbers  to  be  greatly  increased. 

In  the  "Xotes"  above  mentioned,  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury 
use  the  phrase,  "presiding  or  ruling  elders,"  which  clearly  indi- 
cates that  it  is  to  the  episcopate,  and  not  to  the  pastorate,  that 
this  intermediary  office  belongs.  They  also  call  attention  to 
the  great  revivals  which,  from  1784  to  1796,  swept  over  the 
country,  and  assign  as  one  of  the  chief  human  causes  thereof, 
"the  complete  and  effective  executive  government"  of  the  pre- 
siding eldership.  With  such  testimony  in  its  favor,  it  is  not 
strange  that  this  assistant  bishopric  has  remained  what  Coke 
and  Asbury  called  it,  "a  very  capital  part  of  the  executive  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church."  (Xotes  on  the  Discipline,  as  quoted 
by  Sherman,  pages  418  and  419.) 

Yet  it  is  evident  that  a  class  of  ministers  seem  to  think 
the  presiding  eldership  the  weak  point  in  the  line,  since  with 
so  much  persistence  it  is  again  and  again  assailed.  Thus,  at 
the  General  Conference  of  1808,  the  election  of  presiding  elders 
by  the  annual  conferences  was  urged,  a  measure  which  has  be- 
come familiar  to  old  habitues  of  the  Great  Council.  Joshua 
Soule,  the  leader  of  the  conservative  side  of  the  House,  felt 
strong  enough  to  treat  the  proposal  with  disdain,  and  several 
times  moved  that  the  vote  be  taken  without  further  debate. 
At  last,  on  taking  the  yeas  and  nays,  the  vote  stood,  52  for  the 
measure,  and  73  against  it. 

It  ought  to  be  noted  that  between  the  times  of  the  proposal 
of  this  reform  and  the  final  vote  thereon,  that  splendid  and  popu- 
lar pioneer  presiding  elder,  William  McKendree,  had  been 
elected  bishop.  If  the  office  had  fallen  to  some  other  man,  the 
result  of  the  vote  might  have  been  different;  but  to  reduce  the 
powers  of  the  bishopric  just  at  the  beginning  of  McKendree's 
episcopal  career  would  have  looked  like  a  blow  in  his  face. 


The  Ministry. 


261 


Hence,  in  part,  the  completeness  of  the  victory  of  the  episcopal, 
or  conservative,  party,  the  results  whereof  continue  to  this  day. 

But  as  in  the  case  of  bishops  so  also  in  that  of  presiding 
elders,  the  Conference  has  found  cause  for  a  reduction  of  their 
powers.  At  this  same  session  it  was  ordered  that  deacons  should 
be  ordained  on  the  recommendation  of  an  annual  conference, 
instead  of  upon  that  of  a  presiding  elder,  as  had  previously  been 
done. 

In  1816  another  effort  was  made  to  capture  this  position 
from  the  bishops  and  their  assistants,  but  without  success. 
Still  again  in  1820  the  onset  was  made,  and  this  time  it  was 
temporarily  successful;  but,  as  has  already  been  seen,  the  bold 
stand  of  Soule,  the  bishop-elect,  turned  the  victory  into  defeat. 
If  the  change  had  been  made,  it  would  have  amounted  to  a 
revolution  in  that  office,  swinging  it  over  from  its  status  as  a 
part  of  the  episcopacy  to  that  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  min- 
istry. These  officers  would  then  owe  their  position  and  their 
allegiance  to  the  annual  conferences,  and  thus  the  balance  of 
power  between  the'  bishops  and  the  itinerancy  would  be  de- 
stroyed. 

The  victory  of  the  advocates  of  this  revolution  at  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1820  was  evidently  gained  by  the  votes  of 
the  weakest  portion  of  the  body;  else  they  would  not  have  so 
easily  been  forced  from  their  position  by  the  bold  stand  taken 
by  the  bishop-elect,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  reader  has 
been  called  in  the  preceding  chapter.  It  was  a  striking,  not 
to  say  a  sublime,  spectacle  to  see  a  man,  with  his  place  assured 
in  the  highest  office  of  the  Church,  jeoparding  that  office  in 
the  maintenance  of  his  convictions,  and  challenging  the  vote 
of  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  body  to  which  he  owed  his 
election.  But,  as  he  viewed  the  case,  the  foundations  of  the 
episcopate  were  in  danger.  If  the  Conference  of  1820  could 
take  from  the  bishops  the  power  of  appointing  presiding  elders, 
some  later  Conference  might  take  away  other  essential  powers; 
and  thus,  by  degrees,  accomplish  what  the  Eestrictive  Bules 
were  ordained  to  prevent. 

Incumbents  of  the  two  executive  offices  of  the  Church  do 
well  to  honor  the  memory  and  the  record  of  Joshua  Soule.  It 
was  he  who  saved  both  the  episcopate  and  the  presiding  elder- 


262 


The  General  Conference. 


ship  from  such  a  loss  of  power  and  function  as  must,  unless 
the  lost  ground  could  have  been  recovered,  have  landed  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  nondescript  situation  of 
British  Wesleyan  Methodism.  A  little  body  in  a  little  territory 
can  be  governed  by  a  committee;  but  an  army  must  have 
commanders  if  it  is  to  overrun  half  the  habitable  globe. 

True,  Soule  went  over  to  the  south  in  the  disruption  of 
1844 ;  but  he  carried  with  him  the  clearest  head  and  the  stoutest 
will  which  at  that  date — perhaps  at  any  date — belonged  to  the 
Methodist  Church.  The  contradictory  acts  of  two  successive 
General  Conferences — viz.,  those  of  1844  and  1848 — show  the 
danger  to  which  the  Communion  would  have  been  subjected 
if  the  Great  Council,  with  its  changeful  composition,  had  per- 
manently carried  plenary  powers,  and  been  always  able  to  make 
and  unmake  laws  and  officers  at  its  unrestricted  will  and 
pleasure. 

As  already  recorded  in  the  previous  chapter,  the  vote  of  the 
Conference  of  1820  was  rescinded  in  1824,  and  nothing  more 
was  heard  of  an  elective  eldership  for  a  considerable  length 
of*  time. 

At  the  session  of  1840  an  appeal  came  up  against  the  action 
of  the  New  England  Annual  Conference  in  the  case  of  Daniel 
Dorchester,  whom  his  conference  had  censured  for  refusing  to 
put  a  motion  in  a  quarterly  conference  which  he  regarded  as 
not  germane  to  the  business  of  that  body.  The  excitement  in 
the  Church  in  New  England  on  the  slavery  question  was  rapidly 
increasing.  Anti-slavery  societies  were  forming  inside  the 
Churches,  and  anti-slavery  resolutions  were  introduced  at  quar- 
terly and  annual  conferences,  of  which  the  above-mentioned 
motion  was  an  example.  Dr.  Dorchester  was  a  man  of  the 
Bishop  Hedding  stamp,  who  imagined  that  the  dangerous  agi- 
tation might  be  put  down  by  a  liberal  use  of  official  power. 
Hence  his  refusal  to  allow  the  discussion  of  abolitionism  in  his 
quarterly'  conferences. 

It  is  a  notable  proof  of  the  strength  of  the  presiding  elder- 
ship that,  in  an  anti-slavery  General  Conference,  the  action 
of  the  New  England  Annual  Conference  against  Dorchester  was 
reversed.  And  not  only  so,  but  the  Conference  voted  to  con- 
firm these  powers  to  the  eldership,  so  that  they  might  decide 


The  Miriistry. 


questions  of  law  in  a  quarterly  conference  arising  out  of  its 
proper  business,  refuse  to  put  a  motion  which  was  not  consti- 
tutional or  not  germane  to  the  subject  in  hand,  and  to  adjourn 
the  conference  when  all  its  legitimate  business  had  been  trans- 
acted. In  these  respects  the  powers  of  the  eldership  were  made 
equal  to  those  of  the  bishopric. 

With  its  office  so  strong  and  its  position  so  secure,  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  presiding  eldership  came  to  be  abused.  It  was 
not  difficult  for  able  and  worldly-wise  men  to  join  themselves 
together  in  the  annual  conferences  wherein  they  held  this  sub- 
episcopal  position,  and  by  long-continued  holding  of  power  to 
become  "masters  in  Israel,"  in  a  sense  not  contemplated  by  the 
New  Testament.  It  came  to  be  the  unwritten  law  in  the  cab- 
inet that  a  retiring  presiding  elder  should  nominate  his  suc- 
cessor. In  this  situation  two  elders  retiring  at  the  same  time 
could  take  a  brotherly  interest  in  each  other,  and  thus  keep  up 
an  oscillatory  change  between  two  men  and  two  districts  for  an 
indefinite  length  of  time.  In  case  the  times  and  seasons  did  not 
admit  of  this  arrangement,  the  boundaries  of  districts  were 
sometimes  changed  so  as  to  save  the  retiring  governor  from  fall- 
ing into  the  ranks  of  the  governed.  There  is  a  case  on  record 
of  a  presiding  elder  who  was  appointed  to  an  Indiana  district 
by  Bishop  Asbury  in  1812,  and  who,  either  in  that  state  or  in 
Illinois,  served  the  Church  in  that  capacity  until  1869,  when  he 
took  a  superannuated  relation.  (Simpson's  "Cyclopsedia  of 
Methodism,"  page  170.) 

There  is  an  apparatus  known  to  mechanical  engineers  as 
"the  compensation-balance."  A  similar  sort  of  apparatus  ex- 
ists in  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
action  whereof  is  specially  worthy  of  notice  in  reference  to  the 
above-mentioned  abuse  of  the  office  of  assistant  bishop.  Com- 
plaints, deep  if  not  loud,  began  to  come  up  from  men  who  did 
not  relish  this  monopoly  of  powers  and  honors,  the  result  of 
which  was  an  enactment,  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844, 
that  the  bishops  should  not  reappoint  a  presiding  elder  to  the 
same  district,  at  the  close  of  his  four  years'  term  of  service, 
till  he  had  been  absent  therefrom  for  six  years.  This  derange- 
ment much  improved  the  situation,  and  cured,  in  most  cases, 
an  evil  that  was  coming  to  be  a  danger  in  the  Church. 


264 


The  General  Conference. 


At  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  in  1876,  held  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  the  topic  of  chief  interest,  next  to  that 
of  the  establishment  of  fraternity  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  was  the  old  one  of  an  elective  eldership.  It 
was  decided  in  the  negative.  Such  action,  in  the  presence  of 
133  lay  delegates,  in  a  body  whose  total  membership  was  only 
267,  showed  that  the  assistant  bishopric  was  strong,  not  only 
with  the  pulpit,  but  also  with  the  pew. 

At  the  sessions  of  1892  and  of  1896  some  feebly-supported 
memorials  were  presented  relating  to  this  much-agitated  sub- 
ject. A  new  phase  of  the  question  was  the  proposition  to  give 
the  presiding  elders  co-ordinate  power  with  the  bishops  in  the 
work  of  stationing  the  preachers.  But  this,  along  with  all  other 
proposed  changes  in  the  executive  arm  of  the  Church,  met  with 
little  favor. 

Another  suggestion,  somewhat  startling,  and  held  to  be  one 
of  the  curiosities  of  the  long-continued  argument,  was  that  of 
merging  the  two  executive  offices  of  the  Church  in  one.  This 
would  be  accomplished  by  raising  the  presiding  elders  to  the 
rank  of  bishops,  increasing  the  size  of  districts,  and  decreasing 
the  number  of  elder-bishops,  until  the  two  classes  of  adminis- 
tration should,  in  process  of  time,  become  unified,  and  still  the 
"itinerant  general  superintendency"  would  be  preserved.  In 
that  case  the  annual  or  quadrennial  assignment  of  episcopal 
fields  of  labor  would  lie  with  the  General  Conference,  instead 
of,  as  at  present,  with  a  stationing  committee  of  the  bishops 
themselves. 

The  large  increase  in  the  number  of  bishops,  the  large  rela- 
tive decrease  in  the  number  of  presiding  elders,  and  the  dio- 
cesan size  of  many  of  the  districts,  especially  in  the  chief  cities, 
might  some  day,  if  these  processes  were  to  go  on,  bring  the 
above-mentioned  startling  proposition  forward  as  matter  of  seri- 
ous concern. 

MINISTERIAL  TIME-LIMIT. 

In  America,  as  well  as  in  England,  the  only  possible  min- 
istry for  the  Methodists  was  a  movable  ministry.  Though  sadly 
deficient  in  learning,  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  deep  experi- 
ence might  be  an  unspeakable  blessing  to  the  societies  on  a  six 


The  Ministry. 


265 


weeks'  circuit  for  a  twelvemonth,  who  would  become  stale  and 
unprofitable  in  a  single  pulpit  for  that  length  of  time.  Even 
Charles  Wesley  lost  caste  with  the,  Wesleyans  in  London  be- 
cause, on  account  of  his  orders  and  his  learning,  he  insisted 
on  preaching  continuously  at  the  Foundry,  and  afterwards  at 
the  City  Road  Chapel. 

The  General  Conference  was  made  up  of  itinerants,  and 
well  did  they  understand  the  vital  importance  of  this  plan  of 
campaign.  Thus  in  the  early  Minutes  are  records  of  appoint- 
ments for  six  months  at  the  city  stations,  though  the  wide 
range  of  country  circuits  made  it  possible  for  the  preacher  to 
"continue  there  a  year."  *  Frankness  requires  the  con- 
fession that  the  great  pulpit  reputations  of  some  of  the  Meth- 
odist fathers  was  largely  due  to  their  itinerant  life.  The  men 
in  settled  pastorates  over  established  Churches  had  said  all 
their  best  things  long  ago;  but  here  comes  an  itinerant,  fresh 
from  a  great  revival  out  in  the  woods,  and  he  flames  like  a 
comet,  while  his  competitor  only  shines  like  a  star.  Down  to 
a  very  late  date  in  the  history  of  the  Church  the  fame  of  its 
greatest  pulpit  orators  was  made  either  on  wide-range  cir- 
cuits or  in  charge  of  general  interests:  like  Durbin  as  mission- 
ary secretary,  or  Fisk  and  Olin  at  the  head  of  a  struggling 
university,  on  whose  behalf  they  ranged  the  country  round. 

As  the  grade  of  the  preachers  improved,  their  term  of 
service  was  lengthened.  The  General  Conference  of  1804 
directed  that  the  bishops  should  not  allow  a  preacher  to  re- 
main more  than  two  years  in  one  charge,  except  presiding 
elders,  the  book  stewards,  and  the  supernumerary  and  worn- 
out  preachers.  (Sherman,  p.  34.)  The  Conference  of  1820 
increased  the  number  of  these  exceptions  by  adding,  "teach- 
ers in  Methodist  institutions  and  missionaries  to  the  Indians." 
The  Journals  of  the  General  Conference  show  that  transgres- 
sions of  this  law  constituted  an  amiable  weakness  on  the  part 
of  the  bishops,  for  which  it  was  occasionally  needful  to  re- 
prove them.    But  the  only  wonder  is  that  from  two  to  four 


*In  the  Minutes  of  the  first  Conference  in  America,  held  in  Philadelphia 
July  14, 1773,  the  following  record  appears: 

"  Question  1.  How  are  the  preachers  stationed? 

"Answer.  New  York,       Thomas  Rankin. )  _     ,  ._  .  ,, 

_ •  .   *      ~  ,  t  To  change  in  four  months." 

Philadelphia,  George  Shadford.  J  & 


266 


Tke  General  Conference. 


men,  with  from  five  to  eight  hundred  preachers  on  their  hands 
to  be  placed,  and  with  a  more  than  equal  number  of  places 
to  be  pleased,  it  should  have  been  possible  so  nearly  to  obey 
this  burdensome  command. 

In  1844  the  strictness  of  the  rule  was  increased.  The 
bishops  were  forbidden  to  appoint  a  preacher  to  the  same 
charge  more  than  two  years  in  six,  nor  in  the  same  city  more 
than  four  years  in  succession,  nor  to  return  him  to  that  city 
until  he  had  been  absent  six  years.    (Sherman,  p.  48.) 

About  this  time  a  long-term  party  began  to  make  itself 
heard.  There  were  preachers,  it  was  said,  whose  superior 
powers  would  enable  them  to  make  deep  and  permanent  im- 
pression on  a  community  if  they  could  only  be  allowed  to  re- 
main long  enough.  But  the  sense  of  the  General  Conference, 
which  well  represented  the  sense  of  the  Church  on  this  subject, 
was  not  with  them,  and  it  was  not  until  1864  that  the  Great 
Council  could,  be  persuaded  to  try  the  experiment  of  a  three 
years'  pastoral  term.  In  1888  it  was  believed  that  the  experi- 
ment had  been  a  success,  and  two  more  years  were  added. 
Then,  however,  it  began  to  be  noticed  that  the  law  of  "the 
survival  of  the  fittest"  had  a  place  in  the  "Constitution"  of 
the  Church.  A  few  successful  pastors  were  in  favor  of  a  still 
larger  liberty  as  to  time  of  service;  but  the  majority  of  the 
ministry,  and  especially  of  the  laity,  as  represented  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1896  at  Cleveland,  were  of  quite  a 
different  mind.  It  was  even  said  by  some  who  were  familiar 
with  the  practical  workings  of  large  city  Churches  that  a  re- 
turn to  the  three  years'  limit,  with  provision  for  meeting  real 
emergencies,  would  not  be  amiss. 

Following  the  course  of  the  former  session,  the  Committee 
on  Itinerancy  introduced  a  proposition  that,  on  certain  con- 
ditions, the  bishops  should  be  allowed  to  appoint  preachers  to 
the  same  charges  year  by  year  for  a  period  not  to  exceed  ten 
vears  in  twenty.  Again  an  adverse  minority  report  was  sub- 
stituted for  the  majority  report,  which  was,  for  substance, 
as  follows: 

The  question  of  the  pastoral  term  limit  was  to  be  submitted 
to  the  annual  and  lay  electoral  conferences  in  the  fall  of  1898 
and  the  spring  of  1899,  under  the  three  following  forms: 


The  Ministry, 


207 


1.  Shall  it  remain  as  it  is?  2.  Shall  it  bo  extended  with  con- 
ditions?   3.  Shall  it  be  removed  altogether? 

In  an  exciting  session  on  the  last  night  of  the  Conference 
of  1896  no  vote  could  be  reached,  a  call  of  the  House  at  a 
late  hour  showing  that  there  was  not  a  quorum  present. 
Judging  from  the  general  tone  of  the  proceedings  and  from 
the  trend  of  opinion  at  large,  it  would  appear  that  the  above 
form  for  determining  this  much-agitated  subject  would  be 
one  of  the  next  two  Constitutional  questions  submitted  to  the 
conferences  and  the  Church. 

ALLOWANCES. 

The  relation  between  "allowances"  and  conferences  is  both 
visible  and  vital.  In  1792  the  allowance  for  a  preacher  was 
"six  pounds  a  quarter  Pennsylvania  currency,  besides  travel- 
ing expenses."  The  Pennsylvania  "pound"  was  equal  to  two 
dollars  and  sixty-six  cents.  Later  it  was  eighty  dollars  a  year; 
and  in  the  General  Conference  of  1800  it  was  increased  to  a 
hundred  dollars  a  year.  How  the  preachers  managed  to  get 
through  the  war  period,  when  "dollars"  decreased  so  rapidly 
in  value,  there  are  no  records  at  hand  to  show.  But  it  will 
be  easy  to  perceive  that  the  attendance  at  Conferences  very 
much  depended  upon  whether  or  not  the  preacher  had  received 
his  "allowance." 

This  word  has  need  of  a  special  definition  here.  It  did 
not  signify  that  because  the  General  Conference  fixed  a  preach- 
er's stipend  at  sixty-iour  or  eighty  or  a  hundred  dollars,  that 
it  would  undertake  to  insure  his  receiving  that  sum  of  money 
for  his  year's  work.  It  merely  signified  that  if  he  were  so 
blessed  as  to  obtain  the  specified  amount,  he  would  be  "al- 
lowed" to  keep  and  use  it.  But  in  case  he  were  to  receive  more, 
the  surplus  must  be  handed  over  to  the  conference  stewards 
for  the  benefit  of  his  less  fortunate  brethren. 

Thus  the  size  of  the  early  General  Conferences  was  largely 
a  financial  question.  If  a  preacher  had  not  received  his  allow- 
ance, he  must  forego  the  great  privilege  of  meeting  his  breth- 
ren at  the  annual  assembly,  unless  his  circuit  were  a  central 
one — L  e.,  near  to  Philadelphia  or  Baltimore.    As  the  area 


268 


The  General  Conference. 


of  their  work  extended,  the  long  distances  to  be  traveled  were 
a  bar  even  to  many  of  the  "traveling  preachers."  In  this  the 
power  of  the  Church  became  concentrated  in  the  Middle 
States,  and  a  supposed  General  Conference  was  general  only 
in  name.  Thus  the  General  Conference  of  1800  was  com- 
posed of  119  members,  though  the  whole  body  of  the  ministry 
numbered  287;  that  of  1804  had  an  attendance  of  129,  while 
the  first  delegated  Conference,  that  of  1812,  was  composed  of 
90  members.  Thus  the  personal  relations  of  the  preachers  to 
the  Great  Council  were  not  so  seriously  affected  by  the  change 
to  a  delegated  body. 

The  smallness  of  the  "allowance"  was  for  a  long  time 
a  point  of  weakness  in  the  system.  Only  unmarried  men 
could  subsist  on  it.  Bishop  Asbury,  who  was  a  celibate  for 
the  kingdom  of  heaven's  sake,  mourns,  both  in  his  heart  and 
his  journal,  over  the  frequent  loss  of  his  effective  men,  say- 
ing, "Xow  that  they  are  married,  they  will  presently  locate." 
Between  the  Conference  of  1788  and  1792  no  less  than  a 
hundred  and  six  had  located.  The  action  of  the  session  of 
1800,  already  mentioned,  not  only  raised  the  allowance  to  a 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  but  also  made  an  effort  to  aid  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  preachers.  The  wives  of  live  men  were 
supposed  to  be  able  to  look  out  very  much  for  themselves. 
On  this  occasion  it  was  ordered: 

"1.  That  no  sum  exceeding  sixty-four  dollars  shall  in  any  one 
year  be  applied  to  the  use  of  an  itinerant,  superannuated,  or  worn- 
out  single  preacher. 

"2.  That  no  sum  exceeding  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  dol- 
lars shall  be  applied  to  the  use  of  an  itinerant,  superannuated,  or 
worn-out  married  preacher." 

The  maximum  allowance  of  the  widow  of  a  preacher  was 
fixed  at  sixty-four  dollars  and  of  a  dependent  orphan  at  six- 
teen dollars  a  year.    (Sherman,  History  of  Discipline,  p.  252.) 

It  was  at  the  General  Conference  of  1796  that  the 
Chartered  Fund  was  projected,  to  relieve  "necessitous  cases" 
nmong  the  traveling  preachers  who  had  been  employed  on 
fields  that  were  particularly  poor.  A  preamble  and  resolution 
on  this  subject,  adopted  at  the  General  Conference  of  1896, 
contains  two  facts  worthy  of  permanent  record. 


The  Ministry. 


269 


The  following  paper,  presented  by  (Rev.)  W.  M.  Swindells, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  adopted: 

"Whereas,  The  Chartered  Fund,  organized  in  1796,  has  com- 
pleted a  centurj'  of  its  beneficence,  and,  although  its  capital  is  only 
about  $50,000,  it  has  declared  in  dividends  to  conference  claimants 
a  sum  three  times  the  amount  of  its  capital  stock;  there  lore 

"Resolved,  That  this  General  Conference  recommends  that  dur- 
ing the  year  189G  each  pastor  of  each  charge  in  the  Church  sh;ill 
so  present  the  benevolent  features  of  the  fund  to  his  congregation 
that  its  capital  stock  may  be  increased  to  a  sum  worthy  of  the 
cause  and  creditable  to  the  Church."  (Journal  of  General  Confer- 
ence of  1896,  page  100.) 

In  1832  the  General  Conference  ordered  an  annual  collec- 
tion in  all  the  congregations  for  "conference  claimants,"  and 
an  estimating  committee  in  each  annual  conference,  to  ex- 
amine into  and  report  to  the  conference  stewards  the  amount 
needed  by  each  of  the  'claimants.  The  second  place  of  honor 
is  given  to  this  collection.  Every  preacher,  on  the  passage 
of  his  character  at  his  annual  conference,  is  required  to  report: 
first,  the  amount  he  has  raised  for  missions;  and  second,  the 
amount  raised  for  conference  claimants. 

Previous  to  1804  there  had  been  an  entrance  fee  of  twenty 
shillings,  Pennsylvania  currency,  paid  by  each  itinerant  on 
entering  the  ranks,  but  at  that  session  this  bar  was  let  down. 
Doubtless  it  was  found  that  there  were  hindrances  enough  to 
keep  mercenary  and  ambitious  men  out  of  this  ministry,  with- 
out making  them  pay  two  dollars  and  sixty  cents  at  the  door. 
But,  once  in,  he  must  pay  the  twenty  shillings  a  year  into 
the  charity  fund  of  the  conference,  which  amount,  it  was  hoped, 
would  allow  sixty-four  dollars  a  year  to  each  "worn-out 
preacher,"  and  nearly  the  same  amount  to  the  widow  of  a 
preacher  who  had  actually  worked  himself  to  death. 

It  was  at  the  Christmas  Conference  that  "allowances"  were 
first  made;  but  by  degrees  the  plans  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  preachers,  the  superannuates,  and  the  widows  and  orphans 
were  recast  into  a  chapter  in  the  Discipline,  entitled,  "Min- 
isterial Support."  The  men  in  actual  service  came  at  length 
to  sustain  business  relations  to  their  people,  except  that  in  no 
case  where  a  preacher  failed  to  receive  the  salary  estimated  for 


270 


The  General  Conference. 


him  by  the  "Estimating  Committee''  of  his  charge,  could  he 
collect  the  deficiency  by  process  of  law.  It  was,  and  still  is, 
held  that  a  preacher  takes  his  place  at  his  own  risk,  just  as 
the  charge  takes  the  preacher  at  theirs;  and  under  this  view 
it  presently  came  to  be  a  matter  for  concealment  rather  than 
complaint  on  the  part  of  a  pastor  who  was  obliged  to  go  to 
conference  with  a  margin  of  his  salary  unpaid. 

Notwithstanding  the  privations  incident  to  the  life  of  a 
Methodist  preacher,  only  once  in  the  period  between  1812 
and  the  present  time  has  there  been  a  serious  deficiency  in 
the  number  of  men  for  the  rapidly-growing  work.  At  the 
General  Conference  of  1852,  held  in  the  city  of  Boston,  a  day 
of  prayer  was  ordered  to  be  observed  "for  the  raising  up  of 
more  ministers."  This  prayer  was  speedily  answered  in  the 
large  increase  of  the  number  of  students  for  the  ministry,  so 
that  it  soon  became  possible  for  the  Church  to  man  all  its 
pulpits,  and  to  give  large  and  valuable  help  to  other  evangelical 
Churches. 


CHAPTER  III. 


SLAVERY. 

THAT  word  "slavery,"  which  now  has  such  immeasurable 
significance  of  sin  and  shame  and  horror  and  blood,  has 
acquired  a  greatly  enlarged  definition  since  the  beginning  of 
Methodist  history  in  America. 

For  the  first  few  years  that  great  revival  movement  gath- 
ered the  majority  of  its  trophies  in  the  slave  states  of 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina:  masters  and  slaves 
alike  coming  under  its  heavenly  power.  Indeed,  as  Dr.  Sher- 
man suggests  in  his  most  careful  resume  of  the  History  of 
the  Discipline,  the  success  of  the  gospel  among  both  these 
classes  came  to  be  one  of  the  chief  embarrassments  of  the  situ- 
ation. It  does  not  appear  that  colored  persons  were  admitted 
to  membership  of  the  societies  on  equal  terms  with  white 
people;  but  services  were  held  for  their  especial  benefit.  A 
few  of  them,  among  whom  was  Black  Harry  Hosier,  Bishop 
Asbury's  faithful  and  eloquent  servant,  were  allowed  to  act 
as  local  preachers.  Thus  the  good  work  went  forward  for 
more  than  fifty  years  in  a  degree  of  peace  and  quietness,  not 
even  broken  off  by  that  seven  years'  misery — to  wit,  the  war  of 
the  Revolution.  That  was  a  fight  for  liberty,  it  is  true;  but  it 
was  liberty  for  white  men  only,  and  this  the  slaves  came  fully 
to  understand. 

Those  slaveholders  with  whom  the  preachers  first  and  most 
came  in  contact  were  thoughtful  of  the  spiritual  needs  of  their 
servants;  and  so  high  was  the  estimate  of  their  Christian 
character  that  the  ownership  of  slaves  was  no  bar  to  their 
membership  in  the  Methodist  societies.  It  was  to  have  been 
expected  that  the  English  preachers  would  look  with  dis- 
pleasure upon  an  institution  which  had  never  existed  in  Great 
Britain,  and  which  was  finally  banished  from  her  West  India 
colonies;  and  Bishop  Coke  on  several  occasions  narrowly  es- 
caped personal  violence  for  denouncing  the  holding  of  human 
beings  in  bondage.   But  he  was  so  greatly  British  and  so  little 

271 


272 


The  General  Conference. 


American,  and,  withal,  was  so  slightly  acquainted  with  those 
Methodists  who  were  slaveholders,  that  his  remarks  were  one- 
sided, dealing  with  slavery  in  the  abstract  rather  than  with 
the  actually  existing  situation.  He  also  made  the  mistake  of 
omitting  to  notice  the  Xew  Testament  directions  to  slaves  con- 
cerning their  duties  towards  their  masters,  on  which  account 
he  was  thought  to  be  stirring  up  the  Xegroes  to  insurrection. 
-  It  was,  no  doubt,  on  this  account  that,  after  one  of  his  anti- 
slavery  discourses,  a  woman  who  had  been  in  the  congregation 
offered  to  give  any  one  fifty  pounds  who  would  take  Dr.  Coke 
and  give  him  a  hundred  lashes. 

But  Asbury  and  most  of  the  preachers  under  him,  although 
they  hated  slavery  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  had  at  first 
no  serious  difficulty  on  account  of  it,  and  in  spite  of  it  great  re- 
vivals of  religion  were  enjoyed.  Many  good  men  in  the  south 
had  begun  to  think  of  slavery  as  a  burden  rather  than  an  ad- 
vantage; but  it  was  a  patriarchal  institution,  and  was  recog- 
nized in  the  Decalogue,  wherein  a  man-servant  and  a  maid- 
servant were  specified  as  property,  not  to  be  coveted  from  one's 
neighbor.  It  had  existed  in  Israel,  whose  people  were  author- 
ized to  buy  bondmen  and  bondmaids  from  the  heathen  nations 
round  about  them,  though  not  from  their  brethren  of  the  house 
of  Jacob.  Xor  were  there  any  specific  commandments  against 
it  in  the  Xew  Testament ;  but  St.  Paul  had  commanded  Timothy 
to  teach  such  servants  as  were  "under  the  yoke"  to  "count  their 
own  masters  worthy  of  all  honor,  that  the  name  of  God  and 
his  doctrine  be  not  blasphemed/"'  Besides,  the  men  of  that 
generation  were  not  responsible  for  the  existence  of  slavery 
in  America ;  and  since  the  revival  wave  swept  over  slave  states  as 
well  as  free  states,  it  is  not  surprising  that  those  good  men 
did  not  feel  that  the  holding  of  slaves  ought  to  be  a  bar  to 
Christian  fellowship,  nor  yet  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

Even  the  great  George  Whitefield,  on  whose  plantation  and 
orphanage  in  Georgia  slavery  had  at  first  been  prohibited,  after- 
wards sought  for  an  amendment  to  his  charter  by  which  it 
should  be  permitted.  With  such  a  faint  conscience  against  it 
on  the  part  of  truly  pious  men,  perhaps  it  is  fair  to  conclude 
that  the  facts  concerning  the  institution  which  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  English  preachers  in  those  days  were  less 


Slavery. 


273 


stirring  and  tragic  than  those  which  afterwards  led  to  the 
great  Civil  War.  The  first  official  notice  of  this  evil  appears 
in  the  action  of  the  annual  conference  held  at  Baltimore  in 
1780,  as  follows: 

"Ques.  16.  Ought  not  this  Conference  to  require  those  traveling 
preachers  who  hold  slaves  to  give  promise  to  set  them  free? 
"Ans.  Yes." 

There  is  no  accessible  record  as  to  who  those  traveling 
preachers  were  who  were  rich  enough  to  own  Negroes;  nor 
yet  who  were  the  local  preachers  who,  at  sessions  shortly  follow- 
ing that  of  1780,  were  laid  under  special  requirements  to  pro- 
vide for  the  emancipation  of  their  slaves  in  those  states  where 
the  laws  would  admit  of  it. 

There  must  have  been  at  that  period  a  growing  anti-slavery 
sentiment  in  the  conferences,  and  the  discussion  of  the  subject 
must  have  been  regarded  by  the  societies,  many  of  which  were 
in  slave  territory,  as  right  and  proper.  Hence,  in  the  Disci- 
pline of  1784  appears  the  following: 

"Ques.  12.  What  shall  we  do  with  our  friends  that  will  buy  and 
sell  slaves? 

"Ans.  If  they  buy  with  no  other  design  than  to  hold  them  as 
slaves,  and  have  been  previously  warned,  they  shall  be  expelled; 
and  permitted  to  sell  on  no  consideration. 

"Ques.  13.  What  shall  we  do  with  our  local  preachers  who  will 
not  emancipate  their  slaves  in  the  states  where  the  laws  admit  of  it? 

"Ans.  Try  those  in  Virginia  another  year;  and  suspend  the 
preachers  in  Maryland,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey." 

Such  mild  measures  on  this  question  compare  strangely  with 
the  sharp  penalties  threatened  against  preachers  who  presumed 
to  celebrate  the  ordinances  of  the  gospel  contrary  to  the  order 
of  the  Prayer  Book  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  against  the 
members  of  society  who  distilled  grain  into  liquor,  both  of 
which  classes  of  offenders  were  to  be  excommunicated  and  dis- 
owned. In  1785  the  rule  against  slavery  was  suspended;  but 
the  rules  against  distillation  and  against  meddling  with  the 
prerogatives  of  the  English  clergy  were  continued. 

The  General  Conference  of  1796  restored  and  enlarged  the 
rule  against  slavery,  including  all  the  former  provisions,  and 
designating  the  ages  at  which  the  children  of  slave  mothers, 
18 


274 


The  General  Conference. 


whose  future  manumission  had  been  provided  for,  should  be 
free;  viz.,  every  male  at  twenty-five,  and  every  female  at  twenty- 
one  years  of  age.  This,  however,  was  not  intended  to  be  definite 
and  final,  for  the  subject  was  referred  to  "all  the  yearly  confer- 
ences, to  make  whatever  regulations  they  judge  proper  in  this 
case  respecting  the  admission  of  persons  to  official  stations  in 
the  Church/' 

The  undecided  state  of  mind  in  that  assembly  still  further 
appears  in  the  final  paragraph  of  the  chapter  above  quoted;  in 
which  the  preachers  and  members  of  society  are  "requested 
to  consider  the  subject  of  Xegro  slavery  with  deep  attention 
till  the  ensuing  General  Conference;  and  that  they  impart  to 
the  General  Conference  any  important  thoughts  upon  the  sub- 
ject. But  no  "important  thoughts"  were  forthcoming  at  the 
ensuing  General  Conference,  nor  yet  at  that  of  1804;  hence  in 
1808  nearly  all  the  additions  to  the  section  on  slavery  made  in 
1796  were  stricken  out,  and  the  entire  section  ordered  to  be 
omitted  from  the  special  edition  of  the  Discipline  which  was 
to  be  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  societies  in  South  Carolina. 
(Sherman's  "History  of  the  Discipline,"  pp.  35  and  36.) 

On  this  mixed  business  Jesse  Lee  has  the  following  remarks: 

"These  rules  were  but  short-lived,  and  were  offensive  to  most 
of  our  southern  friends.  .  .  .  They  were  never  carried  into  full 
force.  .  .  .  The  part  retained  in  our  Discipline  only  relates  at 
present  to  our  traveling  preachers,  and  such  other  persons  as  are 
to  be  brought  forward  to  official  stations  in  our  Church.  I  shall 
therefore  take  no  further  notice  of  the  rules  about  slavery  which 
were  made  at  various  times  for  twenty-four  years;  i.  e.,  from  the 
Christmas  Conference  in  1784  to  the  last  General  Conference  held 
in  1808.  For  a  long  experience  has  taught  us  that  the  various  rules 
that  have  been  made  on  this  business  have  not  been  attended  with 
that  success  which  was  expected."  ("Short  History  of  the  Meth- 
odists," page  102.) 

The  chapter  on  slavery  to  which  Lee  refers  in  the  above 
quotation,  and  which,  with  few  changes,  remained  in  the  Dis- 
cipline from  1824  to  1860,  was  as  follows: 

Of  Slavery. 

"Ques.  What  shall  be  done  for  the  extirpation  of  the  evil  of 
slavery  ? 

"Ans.  1.  We  declare  that  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced 


Slavery. 


275 


of  the  great  evil  of  slavery;  therefore,  no  slaveholder  shall  be 
eligible  to  any  official  station  in  our  Church  hereafter  where  the 
laws  of  the  state  in  which  he  lives  will  admit  of  emancipation,  and 
permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  freedom. 

"Ans.  2.  When  any  traveling  preacher  becomes  the  owner  of 
a  slave  or  slaves,  by  any  means,  he  shall  forfeit  his  ministerial 
character  in  our  Church,  unless  he  execute,  if  it  be  practicable, 
a  legal  emancipation  of  such  slaves,  conformably  to  the  laws  of 
the  state  in  which  he  lives." 

"Ans.  8.  (Added  in  1824.)  All  our  preachers  shall  prudently  en- 
force upon  our  members  the  necessity  of  teaching  their  slaves  to 
read  the  Word  of  God,  and  to  allow  them  to  attend  upon  the  public 
worship  of  God  on  our  regular  days  of  divine  service." 

"Ans.  k-  Our  colored  preachers  and  official  members  shall  have 
all  the  privileges  which  are  usual  to  others  in  the  district  and  quar- 
terly conferences,  where  the  usages  of  the  country  do  not  forbid  it: 
And  the  presiding  elder  may  hold  for  them  a  separate  district  con- 
ference where  the  number  of  colored  local  preachers  will  justify  it." 

"Ans.  5.  The  bishops  may  employ  colored  preachers  to  travel  and 
preach  when  their  services  are  judged  necessary;  provided,  that  no 
one  shall  be  so  employed  without  having  been  recommended  by  a 
quarterly  conference." 

That  the  anti-slavery  sentiment  was  still  alive  appears  from 
the  fact  that  at  the  General  Conference  of  1832  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  look  into  the  condition  of  the  slaves,  but  when 
their  report  was  presented  it  was  promptly  laid  on  the  table, 
from  which  harmless  position  it  never  was  taken  up. 

And  now  begins  that  period  of  conflict  by  which,  as  by  a 
vast  earthquake,  Methodism  in  America  was  rent  asunder.  A 
brief  digression  is  here  necessary  in  order  to  a  full  understand- 
ing of  extracts  from  the  Minutes  of  the  General  Conferences 
of  1836,  1840,  and  1844.  Perhaps  the  time  has  come  when  the 
actual  state  of  affairs  in  the  Colonies  of  America  in  respect  to 
slavery  can  be  plainly  stated  and  calmly  considered.  That  in- 
stitution has  perished,  though  many  of  its  results  remain.  The 
awful  war  in  which,  as  an  incidental  effect,  it  went  down  is  now 
among  things  remote  in*  this  fast-rushing  age,  and  the  Church 
is  now,  by  reason  of  its  division  on  that  line,  better  able  to  face 
the  anterior  and  interior  facts  to  which  these  pages  relate. 

First  of  all,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  slave-trade  was 
in  full  operation  at  the  time  when  the  Methodists  began  to  be 
known  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.    For  many  years  all  the 


276 


The  General  Conference. 


Colonies  along  the  western  shore  of  that  ocean  owned  and  traded 
in  slaves  brought  from  Africa,  the  most  of  this  traffic  being  car- 
ried on  by  the  northern  colonies,  because  they  owned  a  large 
majority  of  all  the  colonial  ships.  There  are  persons  now  living 
who  well  remember  the  slaves  in  the  households  of  their  parents, 
and  those  of  their  neighbors  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts;  for 
it  was  not  until  1808  that  the  provision  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  came  into  effect,  by  which  the  slave-trade  was 
made  a  crime. 

The  chief  finanical  profits  of  slavery  in  the  north  having 
been  in  the  trade  and  not  in  the  use  of  slaves,  while  in  the  south 
the  reverse  was  true,  the  natural  result  followed.  Slavery  grad- 
ually moved  southward.  It  was  by  no  means  on  account  of  any 
conviction  of  conscience  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land that  this  transition  came  about.  This  appears  from  the 
fact  that  at  the  Constitutional  Convention,  composed  of  dele- 
gates from  the  thirteen  states  of  the  Union,  which  met  at  Phila- 
delphia in  the  summer  of  1787,  the  subject  of  slavery  was 
referred  to  two  committees  in  succession;  the  first  being  com- 
posed of  three  northern  and  two  southern  men,  and  the  second 
having  a  majority  from  the  south.  The  first  of  these  com- 
mittees reported,  August  8,  1T87,  a  recommendation  that  the 
slave-trade  be  legalized  perpetually;  the  second  that  it  should 
not  be  extended  beyond  the  year  1800.  In  his  note  on  this 
subject,  at  the  foot  of  page  386,  of  his  "History  of  Methodism," 
Bishop  McTyeire  says: 

"The  constitutional  provisions  on  this  head  would  never  have 
prolonged  this  infamous  traffic  to  the  year  1808  if  either  Massa- 
chusetts or  New  Hampshire  or  Connecticut  had  stood  by  Delaware 
and  Virginia  in  that  crisis  of  the  country,  and,  like  them,  voted 
against  the  extension." 

In  treating  of  the  origin  of  the  struggle  over  slavery  in  the 
Methodist  Church,  it  has  been  customary  to  say  that  the  con- 
science of  the  Church  in  the  north  was  being  awakened  to  the 
evil  of  the  institution  of  slavery.  But  this  is  not  strictly  cor- 
rect. Conscience  has  its  legitimate  action  in  relation  to  moral 
questions,  and  to  the  conduct  of  the  person  who  possesses  it. 
To  speak  of  a  conscience  against  the  sins  of  others  is  a  misuse 


Slavery. 


277 


of  the  word.  Perhaps  the  cheapest  form  of  piety  is  that  which 
consists  in  disapprobation  of  other  people's  sins.  This  form 
of  conscience  had  been  growing  more  and  more  intense  in  the 
north  against  the  sins  of  the  people  of  the  south;  and  this  was 
the  kind  of  conscience,  as  the  southern  Methodist  slaveholders 
understood  it,  which  led  to  the  agitation  on  that  very  sensitive 
topic,  and  which,  in  the  month  of  December,  1833,  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  National  Anti-slavery  Society  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia. 

The  northern  leaders  m  the  interest  of  "immediate  eman- 
cipation," of  whom  the  chief  Methodist  was  a  New  England 
presiding  elder  named  Orange  Scott,  had  nothing  to  gain  by 
the  continuance  of  slavery,  and  nothing  to  lose  by  its  destruc- 
tion. In  these  respects  their  position  was  the  reverse  from  that 
of  their  slaveholding  brethren  of  the  south.  This  gave  a  free 
hand  to  the  one  party;  but  was  a  question  of  financial  life  or 
death  to  the  other.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  New  England 
abolitionists,  who  were  so  fond  of  referring  to  the  extinction 
of  slavery  by  Great  Britain  in  the  West  Indies,  ever  hinted  at 
the  propriety  of  following  her  example  in  the  manner  of  that 
great  reform;  viz.,  the  partial  compensation  of  the  masters 
whose  slaves  were  then  set  free. 

One  more  important  view  of  this  unhappy  subject,  which 
must  have  had  much  weight  with  the  southern  Methodists,  was 
the  bitter  denunciation  of  the  Churches,  especially  the  northern 
Churches,  for  their  intense  conservatism  on  the  subject  of  this 
great  national  crime.  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Theodore 
Parker,  and  men  of  that  stamp,  were  as  violent  in  their  attacks 
upon  the  Churches  as  they  were  upon  slavery  itself;  while  the 
religious  education  of  the  slaveholding  Church  members  had 
given  them  to  see  that  a  Church  in  which  both  masters  and 
slaves  held  communion  together  was  quite  according  to  the 
usage  in  apostolic  times. 

Now,  in  conclusion  of  this  somewhat  lengthy  digression, 
let  it  be  observed,  without  entering  into  the  merits  of  that 
memorable  debate  which  led  to  the  great  disruption,  that  all 
the  above  considerations  must  have  held  place  in  the  very  life- 
blood  of  the  Methodists  of  the  south.  It  is  only  just  to  them 
and  to  history,  that  these  interior  causes  and  reasons  for  their 


278 


The  General  Conference. 


action  should  be  kept  in  mind.  If  both  writer  and  reader  of 
these  pages  shall  he  able  to  do  this,  the  following  brief  record 
of  the  great  Methodist  ecclesiastical  war  will  be  of  some  sub- 
stantial use. 

At  the  opening  of  the  General  Conference  of  1832  the  Epis- 
copal Address  noted  with  pleasure  the  quieting  of  the  agitation 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  But  an  event  took  place  which  was 
destined  to  be  the  means  of  renewing  the  strife;  viz.,  the  election 
of  James  0.  Andrew,  of  Georgia,  as  one  of  the  two  new  bishops. 
His  colleague  was  John  Emory,  a  native  of  Maryland,  but  at 
the  date  of  his  election  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Confer- 
ence, and  one  of  the  Book  Agents  at  Xew  York. 

That  the  agitation  on  the  subject  of  slavery  was  partially 
"quieted"  is  evident  from  the  election  of  these  two  bishops, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  slaveholding  states,  when  out 
of  the  202  members  of  the  body  118  were  of  the  non-slave- 
holding  section  of  the  Church.  There  was  not  even  the  regular 
Committee  on  Slavery. 

But  this  was  only  the  calm  before  the  storm.  In  the  Xew 
England  delegation  at  the  quiet  General  Conference  of  1832 
was  a  member  whose  name,  during  the  few  following  years, 
came  to  be  a  firebrand.  Orange  Scott  was  a  rising  man  in  his 
conference.  In  183-1  he  was  made  presiding  elder  of  the  Provi- 
dence District  (since  erected  into  the  Providence  Conference), 
and  served  for  two  years  with  great  success.  It  was  during  this 
time  that  the  anti-slavery  society,  to  which  reference  has  already 
been  made,  was  set  on  foot,  and  Mr.  Scott  shortly  came  to  be 
one  of  its  chief  advocates,  both  by  tongue  and  pen.  Before  the 
quadrennium  rolled  round  he  had  made  converts  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  members  of  his  conference,  and  was  elected  to 
the  General  Conference  of  1836,  which  was  to  meet  in  a  border 
city,  at  the  head  of  his  delegation. 

At  that  date  the  number  of  so-called  "abolitionists"  in  the 
Methodist  Church  was  small;  but  Scott  traveled  through  Xew 
England  and  a  part  of  Xew  York,  giving  fiery  lectures,  organ- 
izing local  clubs  whose  object  was  to  agitate  for  "immediate 
emancipation"  of  all  the  slaves,  and  attending  sessions  of  annual 
conferences  in  which  he  secured  the  establishment  of  confer- 
ence anti-slavery  societies. 


Slavery. 


279 


The  General  Conference  of  1836  opened  in  the  city  of  \ 
Cincinnati,  on  Monday,  the  2d  of  May.  The  bishops  were  Rob- 
erts, Soule,  Hedding,  and  Andrew.  Roberts  was  born  in  Mary- 
land. He  was  of  a  kind  and  placid  temper,  and  little  was  heard 
of  him  in  reference  to  the  great  agitation  in  the  Church.  Soule 
was  of  northern  birth  and  education,  but  somehow  had  ob- 
tained a  southern  heart.  Hedding  was  from  the  valley  of  the 
Hudson;  but,  like  Bangs  and  Fisk  and  Whedon,  was  an  anti- 
abolitionist.  Andrew  was  southern.  His  course  was  along  the 
natural  line  of  his  birth  and  education. 

The  body  was  composed  of  146  delegates  from  22  annual 
conferences,  90  members  from  free  state  conferences,  and  56 
from  slave  state  conferences. 

On  the  12th  of  May,  S.  G.  Roszel,  of  the  Baltimore  confer- 
ence, brought  forward,  as  heretofore  mentioned,  resolutions 
of  censure  against  two  of  the  northern  delegates,  who  had  been 
guilty  of  attending  and  addressing  a  meeting  of  the  Cincinnati 
Anti-slavery  Society. 

The  fact  alluded  to  in  these  resolutions  of  censure  was,  that 
William  H.  Norris,  of  the  Maine  Conference,  and  George 
Storrs,  of  the  New  Hampshire  conference,  both  well-known 
abolitionists  in  their  respective  locations,  had  attended  a  regular 
weekly  meeting  of  the  society  above-mentioned,  and  their  re- 
marks were  so  well  received  that  they  resulted  in  the  addition 
of  fifteen  members  to  the  society. 

Over  these  resolutions  the  combat  raged  for  two  days,  with 
the  result  that  they  were  adopted,  with  the  addition  of  a  third 
resolution  directing  that  "the  foregoing  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions be  published  in  our  periodicals." 

The  temper  of  the  pro-slavery  side  of  the  debate  may  be 
understood  from  the  remark  of  William  A.  Smith,  of  Virginia, 
in  favor  of  a  propose^  amendment  which  called  for  the  publi- 
cation of  the  names  of  the  two  active  abolitionists.  "Let  them/' 
said  he,  "be  brought  forth  in  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  their 
damning  iniquity."    But  the  amendment  failed  to  be  adopted. 

It  was  now  seen  that  there  was  work  for  a  Committee  on 
Slavery,  and  such  a  one  was  appointed,  to  which  was  referred 
a  number  of  abolitionist  petitions  from  the  New  England  sec- 
tion of  the  Church.   But  the  most  interesting  matter  laid  before 


280 


The  General  Conference. 


them  was  the  following,  offered  by  William  Winans,  of  Missis- 
sippi, and  seconded  by  Jonathan  Stamper,  of  Kentucky: 

"Resolved,  That  a  pamphlet  circulated  among  the  members  of 
this  Conference,  purporting  to  be  'An  Address  to  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by  a  member  of  that 
body,'  containing  reports  of  the  discussion  on  modern  abolitionism 
palpably  false,  and  calculated  to  make  an  impression  to  the  injury 
of  some  of  the  members  engaged  in  the  aforesaid  discussion,  is  an 
outrage  on  the  dignity  of  this  body  and  meriting  unqualified  rep- 
rehension." 

The  mover  then  proceeded  to  pour  out  the  vials  of  his  wrath 
against  the  unknown  author  of  this  seditious  pamphlet.  When 
he  sat  down  Orange  Scott  arose,  and  announced  that  he  was  the 
author  in  question.  Xo  full  report  of  the  speech  in  which 
Scott  defended  himself  is  accessible  in  any  of  our  Church 
journals;  but  the  wide  range  of  the  debate  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  the  power  of  Congress  over  the  existence 
of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  which  the  north  af- 
firmed and  the  south  denied,  was  one  of  the  chief  questions 
traversed. 

When  the  Winans  resolution  came  to  a  vote,  Scott  moved  as 
an  amendment  that  his  own  name  be  inserted  therein  in  place 
of  the  words,  "by  a  member  of  that  body."  This  was  not  agreed 
to;  but  after  many  severe  remarks  against  him,  the  resolution 
was  passed  by  a  vote  of  97  yeas  to  19  nays.  This  vote  shows 
how  weak  was  the  northern  majority  of  the  body,  as  against 
the  determined  and  united  southern  minority.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  large  number  of  ministers  and  members  of  the  Church 
in  New  England  who  were  on  the  abolitionist  side,  Orange 
Scott  comprised  in  himself  alone  almost  the  whole  of  the  anti- 
slavery  party  in  the  General  Conference  of  1836. 

It  should  be  noted  in  this  connection  that  on  his  return  to 
his  New  England  home  his  conference  passed  his  character,  and 
the  editor  of  Z ion's  Herald  wrote  him  a  note,  congratulating 
him  on  the  noble  and  dignified  stand  he  had  taken  in  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  saying,  "Every  lover  of  human  rights  will 
honor  and  bless  you  for  not  having  flinched  in  the  hour  of 
trial." 


Slavery.  281 

Near  the  close  of  the  session  the  Committee  on  Slavery  re- 
ported, for  substance,  that  it  was  not  advisable  to  meddle  with 
the  Chapter  on  Slavery  as  it  then  stood  in  the  Discipline,  and 
the  Conference  adjourned,  its  members  carrying  home  with 
them  a  vague  sense  of  the  impending  struggle  which,  at  no  dis- 
tant day,  was  destined  to  rend  the  Church  in  twain. 

These  pages  do  not  purport  to  give  a  history  of  the  progress 
of  the  "irrepressible  conflict"  during  the  interim  of  the  quad- 
rennial sessions  of  the  General  Conference,  but  a  brief  reference 
to  the  doings  in  some  of  the  annual  conferences  between  1836 
and  1840  is  needed,  in  order  to  a  better  presentation  of  the 
subject  in  hand. 

At  the  session  of  1836  in  the  Pastoral  Address  of  the 
Bishops  these  words  occurred: 

"We  have  been  agitated  much  on  some  portions  of  our  work 
with  the  very  excitable  subject  of  what  is  called  Abolitionism. 
.  .  .  From  every  view  of  the  subject  which  we  have  been  able  to 
take,  and  from  the  most  calm  and  dispassionate  survey  of  the 
ground,  we  have  come  to  the  solemn  conviction  that  the  only  safe, 
Scriptural,  and  prudent  way  for  us,  both  as  ministers  and  people, 
to  take,  is  wholly  to  refrain  from  this  agitating  subject." 

From  what  soon  followed  it  would  appear  that  the  bishops 
were  inclined  to  take  their  own  official  advice  as  a  part  of  the 
law  of  the  Church,  for  they  at  once  proceeded  to  enforce  the 
above-mentioned  "solemn  conviction"  upon  the  annual  confer- 
ences over  which  they  presided.  For  example:  At  the  next 
ensuing  session  of  the  New  England  Conference  Bishop  Hed- 
ding  informed  Orange  Scott  that  he  would  not  be  reappointed 
as  presiding  elder  of  the  Providence  District  unless  he  would 
pledge  himself  to  refrain  from  lecturing  "and  writing  on  the 
subject  of  slavery.  This  action  led  the  offending  brother,  not 
long  after,  to  accept  an  agency  for  the  National  Anti-slavery 
Society,  and  ultimately  drove  him  out  of  the  Church  along  with 
that  band  of  secessionists  who  afterward  formed  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Connection. 

At  the  same  session  a  Committee  on  Slavery  was  appointed ; 
but  when  their  report  was  presented  the  bishop  refused  to  have 
it  read.   In  like  manner  Bishops  Andrew  and  Waugh — the  lat- 


The  General  Conference. 


ter  being  one  of  the  new  general  superintendents  elected  at  the 
General  Conference  of  1836 — acted  on  the  authority  of  their 
"solemn  conviction"  in  the  northern  conferences  held  by  them, 
refusing  to  receive  reports  or  put  motions  unfriendly  to  slavery, 
though  in  conferences  at  the  south  they  made  no  objection  to 
similar  proposed  action  against  abolitionism.  The  subject  is 
a  painful  one,  and  brevity  in  the  treatment  of  it  is  best.  But, 
as  can  be  readily  seen,  the  efforts  of  the  bishops  to  stop  agitation 
by  assuming  powers  which  were  never  committed  to  them,  only 
added  fuel  to  the  fire,  until  it  set  the  whole  Church  ablaze. 

The  General  Conference  of  1840  was  held  in  Baltimore, 
Bishops  Roberts,  Hedding,  Andrew,  TTaugh,  and  Morris  pre- 
siding. The  senior  Bishop  Soule  was  absent  at  first,  apparently 
on  account  of  sickness.  Bishop  Andrew  was  also  absent  for  a 
time,  but  both  appeared  Jater  in  the  session.  The  Conference 
was  composed  of  143  members,  representing  28  annual  confer- 
ences. Of  this  number,  94  were  from  conferences  in  free  states, 
and  49  from  conferences  in  slave  states.  Thus  if  the  question 
of  slavery  had  been  a  geographical  one,  the  strength  of  the 
Conference  in  favor  of  abolition  ought  to  have  been  nearly  two 
to  one;  but  notwithstanding  this  heavy  majority,  the  northern 
men  were  not  able  to  control  the  action  of  the  body.  During 
the  entire  quadrennium  there  had  been  such  an  increasing  ex- 
citement on  the  subject  of  abolition  in  Xew  England,  especially 
within  the  territory  comprised  in  the  Xew  England  Conference, 
that  it  was  expected  on  all  hands  that  the  session  of  1840  would 
witness  a  severe  conflict  between  the  two  opposing  parties. 

The  Committee  on  Slavery  was  composed  of  twenty-eight 
members,  and  contains  some  historic  names:  Xathan  Bangs,  of 
Xew  York,  chairman  of  the  committee ;  George  Peck,  secretary ; 
Orange  Scott,  the  prominent  anti-slavery  agitator  from  the  Xew 
England  Conference;  Leonidas  L.  Hamline,  H.  B.  Bascom,  and 
W.  1£  Wightman.  Three  of  these,  Hamline,  Bascom,  and 
Wightman,  reached  the  episcopal  chair;  Hamline  in  the  old 
Church,  and  Bascom  and  Wightman  in  the  Church  South. 
Waugh  was  strongly  conservative.  Thus  the  weight  of  the 
episcopal  influence  was  heavily  on  the  conservative  side. 

The  Bishops'  Address,  which  was  a  lengthy  document,  re- 
quiring an  hour  and  three-quarters  for  delivery,  treated,  as  by 


Slavery. 


283 


necessity,  upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  Among  other  things 
it  said: 

"We  regret  that  we  are  compelled  to  say  that  in  some  of  the 
northern  and  eastern  conferences,  in  contravention  of  your  Chris- 
tian counsel  and  of  our  best  efforts  to  carry  it  into  effect,  this  sub- 
ject (of  slavery)  has  been  agitated  in  such  forms  and  in  such  a 
spirit  as  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church.  This  unhappy  agita- 
tion has  not  been  confined  to  your  annual  conferences,  but  has  been 
introduced  into  the  quarterly  conferences,  and  made  the  absorbing 
business  of  self-created  bodies  in  the  bosom  of  our  beloved  Zion. 
The  proposed  object  of  these  operations  is  to  free  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  from  the  'great  moral  evil  of  slavery,'  and  to 
secure  to  the  enslaved  the  rights  and  privileges  of  free  citizens 
of  these  states.  How  far  the  measures  adopted,  and  the  manner  of 
applying  these  measures,  are  calculated  to  accomplish  such  an 
issue,  even  if  it  could  be  benefited  by  any  action  of  ecclesiastical 
bodies,  your  united  wisdom  will  enable  you  to  judge. 

"The  result  of  action  had  in  some  conferences  on  the  resolution 
of  the  New  England  Conference,  recommending  a  very  important 
change  in  our  General  Rule  on  Slavery,  affords  us  strong  and  in- 
creasing confidence  that  the  unity  and  peace  of  the  Church  are  not 
to  be  materially  affected  by  this  exciting  subject.  Many  of  the 
preachers  who  were  favorably  disposed  to  the  cause  of  abolition, 
when  they  saw  the  extent  to  which  it  was  designed  to  carry  these 
measures,  and  the  inevitable  consequences  of  their  prosecution, 
came  to  a  pause,  reflected,  and  declined  their  co-operation. 

"Our  General  Rule  on  Slavery,  which  forms  a  part  of  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Church,  has  stood  from  the  beginning  unchanged,  as 
testamentary  of  our  sentiments  on  the  principle  of  slavery  and  the 
slave-trade;  and  in  this  we  differ  in  no  respect  from  the  sentiments 
of  our  venerable  founder,  or  from  those  of  the  wisest  and  most 
distinguished  statesmen  and  civilians  of  our  own  and  other  en- 
lightened Christian  countries. 

"In  all  the  enactments  of  the  Church  relating  to  slavery  a  due 
and  respectful  regard  has  been  had  to  the  laws  of  the  states;  never 
requiring  emancipation  in  contravention  of  the  civil  authority,  or 
where  the  laws  of  the  states  "would  not  allow  liberated  slaves  to 
enjoy  freedom. 

"The  simply  holding  or  owning  slaves,  without  regard  to  cir- 
cumstances, has  at  no  period  of  the  existence  of  the  Church  sub- 
jected the  master  to  excommunication.  Rules  have  been  made 
from  time  to  time  regulating  the  sale  and  purchase  and  holding  of 
slaves,  with  reference  to  the  different  laws  of  the  states  where 
slavery  is  tolerated,  which,  upon  the  experience '  of  the  great  diffi- 
culties of  administering  them,  and  the  unhappy  consequences  both 
to  masters  and  servants,  have  been  as  often  changed  or  repealed. 


284  The  General  Conference. 


"We  can  not  withhold  from  you  the  solemn  conviction  of  our 
minds  that  no  new  ecclesiastical  legislation  on  the  subject  of  slavery 
at  this  time  will  have  a  tendency  to  accomplish  these  most  desir- 
able objects;  viz.,  to  preserve  the  peace  and  unity  of  the  whole 
body;  to  procure  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  slave  population, 
and  advance  generally  in  the  slaveholding  community  of  our  coun- 
try the  humane  and  hallowing  influence  of  our  holy  religion.  And 
we  are  fully  persuaded  that  as  a  body  of  Christian  ministers  we 
shall  accomplish  the  greatest  good  by  directing  our  individual  and 
united  efforts,  in  the  spirit  of  the  first  teachers  of  Christianity,  to 
bring  both  master  and  servant  under  the  sanctifying  influence  of 
the  principles  of  that  gospel  which  teaches  the  duties  of  every 
relation,  and  enforces  the  faithful  discharge  of  them  by  the  strong- 
est possible  motives." 

These  calm  words  from  the  chief  pastors  appear  to  have 
expressed  the  sense  of  nearly  all  the  southern  delegates,  and, 
perhaps,  of  a  majority  of  northern  delegates  also;  but  the  re- 
formers had  come  to  the  Conference  bent  on  making  a  demon- 
stration of  their  sentiments,  and  they  had  not  long  to  wait  for 
their  opportunity.  On  his  way  to  the  seat  of  the  session,  Orange 
Scott  had  met  one  of  his  friends  in  New  York,  who  had  placed 
in  his  hands  a  memorial  to  the  General  Conference  against 
slavery,  purporting  to  be  signed  by  over  eleven  hundred  Meth- 
odists of  that  city  and  vicinity.  Its  reading  caused  no  little 
surprise.  It  was  the  heaviest  shot  from  the  batteries  of  the 
abolitionists  that  had  been  fired  in  all  the  history  of  the  cam- 
paign. 

The  body  had  at  first  refused  to  appoint  a  Committee  on 
Slavery;  but  now  nothing  else  would  meet  the  case.  The  com- 
mittee was  formed,  with  Dr.  Bangs,  leader  of  the  New  York 
conference  delegation,  for  its  chairman,  and  to  it  the  startling 
memorial  was  referred.  The  fact  that  the  paper  was  sent  to 
the  Conference  by  one  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  New  York 
delegation  awoke  suspicions  as  to  its  genuineness.  Hearing  of 
its  presentation,  a  committee  of  thirty  was  hastily  formed  of 
the  anti-abolitionists  in  the  New  York  Churches,  which  at  once 
proceeded  to  sift  the  mass  of  signatures  to  the  document,  which 
had  been  sent  to  them  by  Chairman  Bangs  for  that  purpose. 
The  results  of  this  search  were  such  that  the  committee  of 
thirty  sent  a  protest  to  the  Conference  against  the  reception  of 
the  Scott  memorial,  reciting  the  facts  which  their  hasty  canvass 


Slavery. 


285 


of  New  York  Methodism  had  hrought  out;  and  this  protest  was 
presented  to  the  body  in  due  course  as  a  part  of  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Slavery,  from  winch  the  following  extracts 
are  made: 

"It  is  with  deep  humiliation  we  find  ourselves  compelled,  from 
the  testimony  adduced  in  said  Protest  and  its  accompanying  docu- 
ments, to  believe  that  unworthy  and  even  fraudulent  means  were 
resorted  to  in  procuring  the  signatures  of  said  Memorial. 

"The  Memorial  declares  that  the  eleven  hundred  and  fifty-four 
signers  whose  names  are  appended  to  it  are  members  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  its  vicinity. 
Whereas,  it  appears  from  the  document  referred  to  us  that  forty- 
five  are  not  members  at  all;  one  is  now,  and  another  has  been,  in 
the  state's  prison;  and  fifteen  are  probationers,  one  of  whom  is  only 
seven  years  of  age.  Of  those  who  are  members,  seventy-eight 
names  are  recorded  twice;  one  thrice;  ninety  are  forged;  there  are 
fifty-eight  whose  residences  are  not  put  down;  twenty-three  can 
not  be  found  in  the  residences  named  in  the  memorial;  sixty  have 
declared  that  they  were  deceived  by  various  false  pretenses;  mak- 
ing in  all  three  hundred  and  ninety-six,  which  must  be  deducted 
from  the  whole  number  of  signers.  Of  the  entire  number,  eight 
hundred  and  thirteen  are  females,  and  it  is  in  evidence  that  in 
several  instances  whole  families  were  set  down.  The  committee 
of  investigation  called  on  less  than  one-half  of  the  persons  whose 
names  are  found  in  the  Memorial,  and  the  conclusion  is  fully  war- 
ranted that  on  a  more  thorough  examination  many  more  would  be 
found  to  be  fabricated  signatures  obtained  by  false  pretenses.  We 
are  very  glad  to  know  that  the  two  persons  actively  engaged  in 
the  disgraceful  work  are  not  members  of  our  Church. 

"From  all  these  facts  the  committee  are  induced  respectfully  to 
submit  the  following  resolutions: 

"1.  That  the  numerous  frauds  manifestly  resorted  to  by  those 
who  obtained  the  signatures  to  the  memorial  on  slavery  from  the 
city  of  New  York,  presented  to  this  Conference  by  Orange  Scott, 
render  it  unworthy  of  credit." 

If  the  report  had  stopped  at  that  point  it  might  have  been 
adopted ;  but  the  committee  attempted  to  take  advantage  of  the 
delicate  situation  in  which  the  leader  of  the  abolitionists  had 
innocently  placed  himself,  and  get  in  a  blow  at  the  heart  of  the 
subject  itself.    It  therefore  goes  on  to  say: 

"In  further  prosecution  of  their  duty  the  committee  ask  per- 
mission to  submit  the  following  as  the  conclusion  of  their  report: 
"Whereas,  Our  Church  in  various  places  has  been  much  agi- 


28G 


The  General  Conference. 


tated  on  the  subject  of  modern  abolitionism  for  several  years 
past;  and 

"Whereas,  It  is  most  desirable  to  tranquillize  these  troubled 
waters,  that  we  may  pursue  our  appropriate  calling  in  peace  and 
harmony;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  By  the  delegates  of  the  several  annual  conferences 
in  General  Conference  assembled,  1.  That  it  is  incompatible  with 
our  duty  as  Christians  and  Christian  ministers  to  agitate  the 
Church  on  the  above  subject  any  further  than  we  feel  ourselves 
bound  to  express  our  individual  opinions  on  proper  occasions  in 
suitable  language,  and  with  deference  and  respect  for  the  opinions 
and  characters  of  those  from  whom  we  may  conscientiously  differ. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  we  highly  disapprove  of  the  conduct  of  those 
Avho  would  disturb  the  peace  of  the  Church  ...  by  forming 
anti-slavery  societies  or  conventions  in  the  Church,  and  giving 
them  currency  by  taking  the  names  of  Methodists,  or  by  bringing 
the  doctrines  of  modern  abolitionism  into  quarterly  and  annual 
conferences,  class,  and  other  meetings  of  devotion.  And  more 
especially  do  we  condemn  the  practice  of  arraigning  the  characters 
of  individuals,  bishops,  and  other  ministers  and  members  of  the 
Church,  through  the  medium  of  the  press,  before  they  have  been 
dealt  with  as  the  Sacred  Scriptures  and  the  Discipline  of  our 
Church  most  explicitly  require. 

"Resolved,  3.  That  it  be,  and  hereby  is,  made  the  duty  of  all 
the  annual  conferences,  bishops,  presiding  elders,  and  preachers  to 
rise  their  influences  to  banish  the  above  practices  from  among  us. 

"All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"N.  Bangs,  Chairman" 

But  the  committee  miscalculated  their  strength.  The  body 
was  very  evenly  divided  on  the  general  subjects,  and  when  the 
report  came  up  for  final  action  it  was  read  and  laid  on  the 
table.    (Minutes  of  General  Conference  of  1840,  page  82.) 

Another  great  contest  in  the  General  Conference  of  1840 
was  over  the  appeal  from  the  action  of  the  Missouri  Confer- 
ence, which  had  censured  one  of  its  ministers,  Silas  Comfort 
by  name,  for  admitting  the  testimony  of  a  colored  boy  at  a 
Church  trial  against  a  white  member  of  the  Church.  This,  of 
course,  in  the  slave  state  of  Missouri  was  illegal;  but  there  was 
a  party  in  the  Church  which  objected  to  having  the  rules  of 
civil  courts  made  binding  in  ecclesiastical  trials,  and  the  case 
afforded  an  opportunity  to  the  abolitionists  to  express  their 
sentiments  respecting  the  equal  rights  of  men  as  men. 

It  was  during  the  struggle  over  the  anterior  question  raised 
by  this  appeal  that  the  first  recorded  threats  of  disruption  were 


Slavery. 


287 


ever  heard  in  a  General  Conference.  After  some  sharp  debate, 
Ignatius  A.  Few,  of  Georgia,  offered  a  resolution  which  allirmed 
that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  General  Conference,  colored  men 
were  not  entitled  to  testify  against  white  men  in  states  where 
their  testimony  was  not  admissible  in  courts  of  law.  This  reso- 
lution was  passed  by  a  very  close  vote ;  but,  later  on,  the  reform- 
ers determined  if  possible  to  reverse  that  conservative  action, 
and  moved  a  reconsideration.  Such  a  motion  was  then  held  to 
be  debatable. 

In  defense  of  his  resolution,  Dr.  Few  made  a  notable  speech, 
concluding  as  follows: 

"The  decision  of  this  Conference  reversing  that  of  the  Missouri 
Conference,  and  going  to  say  that  Negro  testimony  against  white 
members  might  be  received  in  Church  trials,  has  gone  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  and  is  working  its  desolating 
effects.  It  would  therefore  be  madness  to  withhold  the  antidote. 
If  you  are  prepared  to  say  that  the  principle  of  the  resolution  is 
indefensible,  then  you  who  profess  to  be  the  moderate  party  are 
prepared  to  say  that  all  who  are  connected  with  the  system  of 
slavery  are  sinners,  root  and  branch  before  high  heaven.  Are  you 
afraid  of  bringing  down  upon  you  the  wrath  of  the  abolitionists, 
that  you  wish  to  rescind  this  resolution?  And  to  secure  their  favor, 
are  you  willing  to  do  an  act  which  shall  encourage  the  slave  to 
plunge  his  knife  in  the  heart  of  his  master,  with  the  hope  of  having 
his  name  emblazoned  on  the  page  of  history  along  with  that 
of  Brutus? 

"I  am  tired  of  this  agitation.  If  you  will  push  this  thing,  let 
us  go.  It  is  not  our  fault;  we  have  not  agitated  it.  We  have  sent 
up  no  memorials  or  petitions.  We  who  believe  that  to  preach  the 
Word  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  grand  means  of  saving  the  slave,  have 
never  troubled  you.  Let  us  go.  This  is  the  Rubicon,  sir.  I  an- 
nounce it  seriously.    This  is  the  Rubicon!    Pass  it  not!" 

The  next  speaker  was  William  Winans,  of  Mississippi,  who 
also  opposed  the  reconsideration.  The  conclusion  of  his  speech 
was  as  follows: 

"It  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death  with  us,  sir.  Pause,  I  beseech 
you.  You  may  rescind  this  resolution;  but  we  can  bear  this.  We 
may  be  hunted  from  our  homes  and  hearths;  but  we  can  bear 
this.  We  may  be  put  to  death;  but  we  could  bear  this  for  the  sake 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.  We  might  emigrate;  we  are  a  migratory  people, 
and  might  go  where  we  would  not  be  thus  thwarted,  while  we  are 
executing  our  commission  as  Christ's  ministers.  But  the  poor 
blacks!  I  know  them,  sir.  I  have  been  thirty  years  laboring  with 
them,  and  the  rescinding  of  this  resolution  will  bar  all  access  to 


The  General  Conference. 


them,  and  snatch  the  bread  of  life  from  their  lips.  It  will  do  it, 
sir;  it  will.  I  could  on  my  bended  knees  beseech  you  by  the  wants— 
the  spiritual  wants— of  famishing  thousands,  do  not  repeal  this 
resolution." 

It  was  the  same  old  horror.  The  slave  must  be  kept  down, 
or  he  will  become  dangerous.  And  it  was  also  the  self-same 
kindness  of  a  good  master  towards  his  servants.  Many  Meth- 
odists had  liberated  their  slaves  under  the  urgent  entreaties 
of  the  earlier  preachers;  but  in  the  turn  which  affairs  were  now 
taking  the  vast  majority  of  masters  were  likely,  for  resentment 
as  well  as  for  self-protection  against  impending  danger,  to 
abridge  the  poor  liberties  allowed  on  their  plantations;  and 
especially  to  shut  out  the  Methodist  preachers  from  work  among 
them.  For  who  could  tell  whether  some  meek-looking  itinerant 
on  a  southern  circuit  might  not  be  an  abolitionist  in  disguise? 

The  final  vote  on  the  question  was  taken  on  a  substitute 
for  the  resolution  of  Dr.  Few,  of  Georgia,  offered  by  W.  A. 
Smith,  of  Virginia,  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  and  unjustifiable  for  any 
preacher  among  us  to  admit  persons  of  color  to  give  testimony  on 
the  trial  of  white  persons  in  any  slaveholding  state  or  territory 
where  they  are  denied  that  privilege  in  trials  at  law;  provided,  that 
when  an  annual  conference  in  any  such  state  or  territory  shall 
judge  it  expedient  to  admit  of  the  introduction  of  such  testimony 
within  its  bounds  it  shall  be  allowed  to  do  so." 

On  this  substitute  the  yeas  and  nays  were  taken,  resulting 
in  a  tie,  G9  yeas  and  69  nays.  The  presiding  officer,  Bishop 
Hedding,  declined  to  give  the  casting  vote,  but  decided  that  the 
resolution,  not  having  a  majority,  had  failed.  Tims  narrowly 
was  Dr.  Few's  resolution  saved. 

'Not  satisfied  with  this  result,  Bishop  Soule  at  the  afternoon 
session  of  June  2d  offered  some  explanatory  resolutions,  affirm- 
ing that  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  on  the  resolution 
of  Dr.  Few  relative  to  the  appeal  of  Silas  Comfort,  of  the  Mis- 
souri Conference,  was  not  intended  to  order  any  change  in  the 
usages  of  the  annual  conferences  on  the  subject  of  admitting 
colored  persons  to  testify  in  the  trial  of  white  members  of  the 
Church;  also  affirming  confidence  and  brotherly  love  toward 
the  colored  members  of  the  Church.  His  resolutions  were 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  97  to  27.  Thus  the  position  of  the  Church 
on  this  vexed  question  remained  unchanged. 


Slavery. 


289 


Another  matter  that  caused  no  little  contention  was  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Itinerancy,  concerning  the 
journals  of  the  New  England  Conference.    It  was  as  follows: 

"The  New  England  Conference,  as  has  appeared  to  the  com- 
mittee, have  been  during  the  last  four  years  disorganizing  in  their 
proceedings,  and  appear  to  have  pursued  a  course  destructive  to 
the  peace,  harmony,  and  unity  of  the  Church. 

"1.  They  have  done  so  when  they  have  gone  beyond  the  proper 
jurisdiction  of  an  annual  conference,  and  pronounced  upon  the 
characters  of  brethren  who  are  not  at  all  responsible  to  them. 

"2.  The  journals  of  that  conference  exhibit  no  grounds  on  which 
they  acquitted  Orange  Scott,  who,  by  direct  implication,  had  been 
found  guilty,  by  a  large  majority  of  the  last  General  Conference, 
of  publishing  statements  concerning  members  of  that  body,  which 
were  gross  misrepresentations,  or  flagrant  and  scandalous  false- 
hoods. 

"3.  The  same  absence  exists  of  all  showing  of  reasons  for  ac- 
quitting Orange  Scott  and  La  Roy  Sunderland  on  charges  of  evil- 
doing,  growing  out  of  abolition  agitation  in  which  they  were  en- 
gaged.  .   .  ." 

Pending  the  vote,  Bishop  Hedding,  who  had  spent  much  of 
his  life  in  New  England,  earnestly  entreated  that  the  severe 
censure  passed  upon  the  New  England  Conference  might  be 
omitted  from  the  report.  Against  this  some  of  the  southern 
delegates  protested,  declaring  that  the  facts  were  as  stated  in 
the  report;  that  the  action  of  the  conference  in  question  had 
been  "disorganizing,"  and  that  "such  action  must  inevitably 
sunder  the  Church."  After  much  dispute,  ominous  of  the 
earthquake  that  was  coming  four  years  later,  the  request  of 
Bishop  Hedding  was  acceded  to,  and  the  report  was  adopted 
without  the  sharp  censure  of  the  New  England  Conference. 

Among  other  persuasive  words  the  bishop  had  said:  "The 
excitement  in  the  north  is  diminishing,  and  if  we  do  nothing 
to  revive  it,  it  is  hoped  that  it  may  die  away."  Vain  hope! 
Abolition  or  disruption  was  the  sole  alternative  forced  upon 
the  Church,  only  one  of  which  events  was  possible.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  poor  alfair  in  existence,  to  wit:  The  American  Coloni- 
zation Society,  whose  proposal  was  to  assist  in  sending  ,  the 
slaves  back  to  Africa — a  scheme  about  as  sensible  as  would  be 
a  proposition  now  to  send  all  Hibernians  back  to  Ireland,  or  all 
the  Germans  back  to  Fatherland. 
19 


CHAPTER  IV. 


SLAVERY  (Continued). 

r  I  ^HE  period  between  the  General  Conferences  of  1840  and 
1844  has  a  very  significant  history.  The  discouragement 
of  the  reformers  over  the  action,  or  rather  the  non-action,  of 
the  Conference  of  1840,  from  which  they  had  hoped  so  much 
and  realized  so  little,  was  intense.  Even  the  eloquent  and 
enthusiastic  Orange  Scott  was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  action 
by  the  Church  was  hopeless  without  the  action  of  the  state. 
Thence  came  the  movement  for  the  secession  of  that  consider- 
able body  which  in  1842  organized  themselves  under  the  name 
of  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Connection,  of  which  Scott  was 
one  of  the  leaders.  This  new  body  retained  the  doctrines  and 
some  of  the  discipline  of  the  parent  Church;  but,  of  course, 
made  the  holding  of  slaves  a  bar  to  membership.  They  pros- 
pered in  a  small  way.  During  the  quadrennium  from  1840 
to  1844  about  twenty  thousand  Methodists  left  the  old  Church 
and  joined  the  new. 

For  a  time  this  relieved  the  pressure  of  the  high  contention 
on  slavery,  and  it  is  affirmed  that  the  event  was  followed  by  a 
period  of  unprecedented  prosperity,  during  which  the  increase 
in  the  Church  far  exceeded  anything  known  in  its  previous 
history,  the  gain  in  membership  for  the  four  years  being  more 
than  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand."  (McTyeire's  "History 
of  Methodism,7'  page  612.)  The  bishop  quotes  in  this  con- 
nection a  text  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles:  "Then  had  the 
Churches  rest  throughout  all  Judea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria, 
and  were  edified." 

But  it  is  not  safe  to  draw  conclusions  concerning  the  Divine 
purpose  from  Divine  providence  alone.  Now,  as  in  the  instance 
above  cited,  the  "rest"  was  for  no  great  length  of  time. 

The  memorable  General  Conference  of  1844  assembled  in 
the  Greene  Street  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  Wednes- 
day, the  1st  of  May,  Bishops  Soule,  Hedding,  Andrew,  Waugh, 
and  Morris  being  present.    The  entire  number  of  delegates  was 

290 


Slavery. 


291 


171.  Of  these,  119  were  from  annual  conferences  in  free  states, 
and  52  from  those  in  slave  states.  These  figures  were  porten- 
tous of  war,  and  of  a  war  that  was  almost  certain  to  end  in  the 
carrying  out  of  the  threat  made  by  the  southern  men  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1840. 

In  spite  of  the  departure  of  the  Wesleyans,  the  free  states 
had  gained  heavily  on  the  slave  states,  so  that  when  the  General 
Conference  of  1844  had  been  fully  set  in  array  it  was  evident  that 
"the  Bubicon"  was  now  reached,  and  would  undoubtedly  be 
crossed.  As  in  former  sessions,  the  line  of  separation  between 
conservatives  and  radicals  on  the  slavery  question  was  not  the 
geographical  one;  but  that  state  of  the  case  had  been  much 
more  nearly  reached  than  in  the  session  of  1840. 

ABOLITIONISM. 

The  anti-slavery  men  had  no  longer  a  fiery  leader  like 
Orange  Scott.  Calmer  counsels  had  prevailed;  but  the  calm- 
ness was  a  real  gain  to  their  cause. 

An  awful  sense  of  the  situation  seemed  to  pervade  the  assem- 
bly, which  was  heightened  by  the  request  of  the  bishops  that 
the  Episcopal  Address  might  be  read  with  closed  doors,  which 
was  done.  But  that  document,  instead  of  dealing  chiefly  with 
the  subject  which  was  uppermost  in  all  minds,  dwelt  largely 
upon  the  position  and  prerogatives  of  the  bishops  themselves. 
This  matter,  no  doubt,  had  been  impressed  upon  their  attention 
by  their  stormy  experiences  in  some  of  the  northern  conferences, 
in  which  they  had  attempted  to  lead  or  control  the  proceed- 
ings in  the  interest  of  peace. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  session  a  memorial  from  the  Provi- 
dence Conference  was  presented  by  Frederick  Upham,  which 
in  very  incisive  language  made  an  attack  on  slavery.  In  an- 
nouncing the  usual  committees  none  had  been  appointed  on 
slavery;  but  now,  on  motion  of  John  A.  Collins,  of  Baltimore, 
such  a  committee  was  raised,  consisting  of  one  member  from 
each  annual  conference.  If  this  committee  actually  considered 
all  the  anti-slavery  documents  poured  in  upon  them,  they  must 
have  been  a  very  hard-working  body.  There  were  no  less  than 
thirty  memorials,  protests,  etc.,  from  Churches  in  the  New 


292 


The  General  Conference. 


Hampshire  Conference  alone.  They  were  of  various  kinds. 
Some  contained  censures  on  the  conservative  action  of  the 
bishops  in  their  efforts  to  keep  down  abolition  excitement;  some 
denounced  the  attitude  of  the  Church  on  slavery;  some  fought 
over  again  the  battle  of  1810,  on  the  admission  of  testimony 
of  colored  persons  in  trials  of  white  members  of  the  Church; 
while  others  denounced  in  no  gentle  terms  the  iniquity  of 
slavery  itself,  and  insisted  that  no  person  guilty  of  the  sin  of 
slaveholding  was  fit  for  the  fellowship  of  any  Christian  com- 
munion. The  chairman  of  this  committee  was  George  Peck, 
of  Xew  York.  Next  to  him  was  that  distinguished  Methodist 
historian,  Abel  Stevens;  but  he,  being  only  an  alternate,  soon 
gave  place  to  his  principal,  on  that  member's  appearance. 

The  first  great  contention  of  the  session  was  over  the  appeal 
of  Francis  A.  Harding  from  the  action  of  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference, by  which  body  he  had  been  expelled  "for  refusing  to 
manumit  certain  slaves  which  came  into  his  possession  by  his 
marriage."  It  appeared  in  evidence  that  by  the  laws  of  Mary- 
land the  title  and  ownership  inhered  in  the  wife,  and  that  a 
slave  could  not  be  emancipated  and  continue  to  reside  in  the 
state.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was  contended  that  the  appellant 
knew  that  the  Baltimore  Conference  did  not  tolerate  slavehold- 
ing on  the  part  of  its  members.  Besides,  there  was  plenty  of 
free  territory  to  which  the  offending  brother  might  have'  re- 
moved. Therefore,  the  appeal  was  dismissed,  by  a  vote  of 
117  to  56. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  Baltimore  Conference,  which, 
as  has  been  seen,  was  a  mixed  conference,  should  have  made 
such  stringent  regulations  as  those  under  which  Harding  had 
been  expelled.  But  it  is  said  by  some  who  can  recall  the  events 
of  that  period,  that  the  anti-slavery  sentiments  of  men  of 
southern  birth  and  education,  when  once  they  had  come  to 
realize  the  wickedness  of  slavery,  were  more  intense  than  in  the 
case  of  northern  abolitionists,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  insti- 
tution by  observation  and  experience.  Hence,  doubtless,  the 
fact  that  two  members  of  the  Baltimore  delegation  led  off  in 
the  bitter  fight  over  the  suspension  of  Bishop  Andrew  from  the 
functions  of  the  episcopal  office. 

This  was  the  fall  of  the  shadow  of  impending  doom.  Be- 


Slavery, 


293 


hind  the  case  of  Harding  was  that  of  Bishop  Andrew,  who,  by 
bequest  as  well  as  by  marriage,  had  come  to  be  a  slaveholder. 
If  the  General  Conference  did  not  spare  the  preacher,  could 
they  be  expected  to  spare  the  bishop?  And  the  anti-slavery 
majority  was  so  hopelessly  strong!  No  wonder  that  the  southern 
delegations  began  to  gather  their  robes  about  them  in  prepa- 
ration for  their  sad  departure. 

But  the  south  would  make  one  more  effort  in  the  direction 
of  preserving  the  unity  of  the  Church.  Some  of  them,  as  al- 
ready seen,  had  in  1840  thrown  out  threats  of  dissolution  if 
the  abolitionists  did  not  cease  their  agitation;  but  now,  when 
they  were  brought  face  to  face  with  that  awful  catastrophe,  the 
best  men  among  them  held  their  breath.  It  was  the  calm  and 
gentle  Dr.  Capers,  of  South  Carolina,  one  of  the  missionary, 
secretaries  of  the  Church,  a  man  beloved  and  trusted  both  by 
north  and  south,  who  at  that  portentous  hour  moved  the  fol- 
lowing preamble  and  resolutions: 

"In  view  of  the  distracting  agitation  which  has  so  long  pre- 
vailed on  the  subject  of  slavery  and  abolition,  and  especially  the 
difficulties  under  which  we  labor  in  the  present  General  Conference 
on  account  of  the  relative  position  of  our  brethren  North  and  South 
on  this  perplexing  question;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  six  be  appointed  to  confer  with 
the  bishops,  and  report  within  two  days,  as  to  the  possibility  of 
adopting  some  plan,  and  what,  for  the  permanent  pacification  of 
the  Church." 

The  resolution  was  seconded  by  Dr.  Olin,  of  New  York,  the 
distinguished  southern  scholar  and  orator,  who  had  succeeded 
Wilbur  Fisk  in  the  presidency  of  the  Wesleyan  University  at 
Middletown,  Conn.  The  motion  prevailed,  and  the  following 
brethren  were  named  as  the  committee:  Dr.  Capers,  of  South 
Carolina;  Dr.  Olin,  of  New  York;  William  Winans,  of  Missis- 
sippi; John  Early,  of  Virginia;  Leonidas  L.  Hamline,  of  Ohio; 
and  Phineas  Crandall,  of  Massachusetts.  In  seconding  the  reso- 
lution offered  by  Dr.  Capers — who  shortly  became  a  bishop  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South — Dr.  Olin  said: 

".  .  .  It  appears  to  me  that  we  stand  committed  on  this  ques- 
tion by  our  principles  and  views  of  policy,  and  neither  of  us  dare 
move  a  step  from  our  position.  Let  us  keep  away  from  the  contro- 
versy until  brethren  from  opposite  sides  have  come  together.  I 


294 


The  General  Conference. 


confess  I  turn  away  from  it  with  sorrow,  and  a  deep  feeling  of 
apprehension  that  the  difficulties  which  are  now  upon  us  threaten 
to  be  unmanageable.  I  do,  indeed,  believe  that  if  this  General 
Conference  do  not  speak  out  clearly  and  distinctlj'  on  the  subject, 
however  unpalatable  it  may  be,  we  can  not  go  home  under  this 
distracting  question  without  a  certainty  of  breaking  up  our  con- 
ferences. .  .  .  With  regard  to  our  southern  brethren,  if  they 
concede  what  the  northern  brethren  wish,  if  they  concede  that 
holding  slaves  is  incompatible  with  holding  their  ministry,  they 
may  as  well  go  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  as  to  their  own  sunny 
plains.  ...  I  see  no  way  of  escape.  If  we  find  any  it  will  be 
by  mutual  moderation,  in  calling  for  help  from  the  God  of  our 
fathers,  and  in  looking  upon  each  other  as  we  were  wont  to  do." 

Dr.  Olin's  speech,  from  which  only  this  hrief  extract  can 
here  find  place,  greatly  moved  and  softened  the  hearts  of  the 
Conference.  Under  the  hallowed  hush  produced  by  it,  Dr. 
Durbin,  who  made  his  fame  as  missionary  secretary,  a  delegate 
from  the  Philadelphia  conference,  moved  that  "to-morrow  he 
observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  humiliation  before  God,  and 
prayer  for  a  blessing  upon  the  committee.*'  The  proposed 
religious  observance  of  the  day — Wednesday,  M~ay  loth — was 
modified  into  the  form  of  a  prayer-meeting  for  one  hour,  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  next  day's  session.  A  whole  day  for  prayer 
was  not  according  to  the  temper  of  the  body.  This  service 
was  held,  after  the  earlier  part  of  the  morning  had  been  largely 
occupied  with  presenting  and  reading  another  stream  of  anti- 
slavery  documents.  Four  days  later  Bishop  Soule  reported  to 
the  Conference  that  the  committee  were  "unable  to  agree  upon 
any  plan  of  compromise  to  reconcile  the  northern  and  southern 
conferences."   The  last  hope  of  a  united  Church  was  gone. 

The  combat  then  went  on.  The  next  advance  was  a  motion, 
by  J.  A.  Collins,  of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  requesting  the 
Committee  on  Episcopacy  "to  ascertain  the  facts  in  the  case 
of  Bishop  Andrew,  and  report  the  results  of  their  investigations 
to-morrow  morning."  This  was  on  the  22d  of  May.  Accord- 
ingly, Dr.  Robert  Paine,  of  the  Tennessee  Conference,  who 'was 
the  chairman  of  that  committee,  made  report  that  they  had  held 
an  interview  with  Bishop  Andrew,  who  had  placed  in  their 
hands  a  statement  of  his  case.  This  document  stated  that  sev- 
eral years  ago  an  old  lady  in  Augusta,  Ga.,  had  bequeathed  to 
him  a  mulatto  girl  in  trust,  with  a  view  of  sending  her  to 


Slavery. 


295 


Liberia  when  she  should  reach  the  age  of  nineteen  years.  But 
if  she  should  then  refuse  to  go,  the  bishop  was  to  "make  her 
as  free  as  the  laws  of  the  state  of  Georgia  would  permit."  The 
girl  having  come  of  age,  and  having  refused  to  go  to  Liberia, 
had  been  provided  with  a  house,  and  had  lived  under  the 
guardianship  of  the  bishop  as  nearly  like  a  free  Negro  as  pos- 
sible under  the  laws  of  that  state. 
Another  item  was  as  follows: 

"About  five  years  since  the  mother  of  my  former  wife  left  to 
her  daughter,  not  to  me,  a  Negro  boy,  and  as  my  wife  died  without 
a  will,  more  than  two  years  since,  by  the  laws  of  the  state  he  be- 
came legally  my  property.  In  this  case,  as  in  the  former,  eman- 
cipation is  impracticable  in  the  state;  but  he  shall  be  at  liberty  to 
leave  the  state  whenever  I  shall  be  satisfied  that  he  is  prepared 
to  provide  for  himself,  or  I  can  have  sufficient  security  that  he  will 
be  protected  and  provided  for  in  the  place  to  which  he  may  go." 

The  third  point  in  question  was  met  by  the  statement 
that  his  second  wife  was  the  owner  of  slaves  inherited  from  her 
former  husband;  and,  as  emancipation  was  illegal,  he  had  con- 
veyed to  his  wife  all  his  legal  rights  in  the  slaves  which  had 
come  to  him  by  this  marriage.  "As  to  the  servants  owned  by 
my  wife,"  says  the  bishop,  "I  have  no  legal  responsibility  in 
the  premises,  nor  could  my  wife  emancipate  them  if  she  de- 
sired to  do  so."  (See  Minutes  of  General  Conference  1844, 
page  63.) 

The  above  statement,  which  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy 
presented  as  their  report,  was  made  the  order  of  the  day  for 
May  23d,  at  which  time  two  more  members  of  the  Baltimore 
conference,  Alfred  Griffith  and  John  Davis,  brought  forward 
the  following  preamble  and  resolution: 

"Whereas,  The  Rev.  James  O.  Andrew,  one  of  the  bishops 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  has  become  connected  with 
slavery,  as  communicated  in  his  statement  in  his  reply  to  the  in- 
quiry of  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy,  which  reply  is  embodied 
in  their  Report  No.  3,  presented  yesterday;  and 

"Whereas,  It  has  been,  from  the  origin  of  said  Church,  a 
settled  policy  and  the  invariable  usage  to  elect  no  person  to  the 
office  of  bishop  who  was  embarrassed  with  this  'great  evil,'  as 
under  such  circumstances  it  would  be  impossible  for  a  bishop  to 
exercise  the  functions  and  perform  the  duties  assigned  to  a  general 


2UG 


The  General  Conference. 


superintendent  with  acceptance  in  that  large  portion  of  his  charge 
in  which  slavery  does  not  exist;  and 

"Whereas,  Bishop  Andrew  Mas  himself  nominated  by  our 
brethren  of  the  slaveholding  states,  and  elected  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1832,  as  a  candidate  who,  though  living  in  the  midst 
of  a  slaveholding  population,  was  nevertheless  free  from  all  per- 
sonal connection  with  slavery;  and 

"Whereas,  This  is,  of  all  periods  in  our  history  as  a  Church, 
the  one  least  favorable  to  such  an  innovation  upon  the  practice 
and  usage  of  Methodism  as  to  confide  a  part  of  the  itinerant  general 
superintendency  to  a  slaveholder;  therefore, 

''Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  James  O.  Andrew  be,  and  he  is  hereby, 
affectionately  requested  to  resign  his  office  as  one  of  tihe  bishops 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church." 

This  singuar  document  was  guilty  of  a  grave  discourtesy 
in  addressing  a  bishop  simply  as  "the  Kev.  James  0.  Andrew/' 
thus  assuming  that  his  episcopal  glory  had  already  departed. 
Its  strange  request  that  the  bishop  would  place  himself  on  the 
altar  as  a  sacrifice,  when  there  ,was  no  disciplinary  method  of 
putting  him  out  of  his  office,  is  another  feature  of  the  resolution 
which  needs  to  be  borne  in  mind. 

That  such  action  should  have  come  from  the  Baltimore 
Conference,  one-half  of  whose  territory  was  slave,  and  the  other 
half  free,  need  not  be  matter  of  surprise.  It  was  well  under- 
stood that  the  Conference  had  never  received  a  slaveholding 
preacher  into  its  fellowship,  and  that  in  repeated  instances  it 
had  expelled  members  for  that  offense,  since  it  was  possible 
under  the  laws  of  Maryland  to  emancipate  slaves.  Here,  as 
elsewhere  in  slave  territory,  those  who  had  come  to  be  abolition- 
ists were  of  the  most  determined  sort,  and  hence  there  need  be 
no  surprise  that  the  three  men  who  took  the  lead  in  the  attack 
on  Bishop  Andrew  were  three  members  of  the  Baltimore  (bor- 
der) conference. 

The  Griffith-Davis  resolution  was  defended,  first,  on  the 
ground  that  as  the  General  Conference  had  given  the  office  of 
bishop  it  had  equal  power  and  right  to  take  it  away.  Second, 
"expediency"  demanded  that  slavery  and  the  Episcopacy  should 
be  absolutely  separated  from  each  other.  Failure  to  obtain  this 
result  would  work  the  ruin  of  the  office  and  the  Church,  since 
a  slaveholding  bishop  would  not  be  tolerated  in  the  northern 
conferences;  third,  it  was  argued  that  the  usage  of  the  Church 


Slavery.  •  297 

had  been  not  to  elect  any  man  to  the  episcopate  who  was  at 
all  connected  with  slavery.  It  was  claimed  that  James  0.  An- 
drew had  been  chosen  from  the  south  by  reason  of  the  fact  that 
he  was  at  that  time  free  from  any  connection  with  slavery,  and 
that  to  allow  him  to  hold  his  office  after  he  had  become  a  slave- 
holder would  be  breaking  over  an  established  precedent. 

There  was  at  that  time  a  provision  in  the  Discipline,  Chap- 
ter IX,  Section  1,  as  follows: 

"Qucs.  1.  To  whom  is  the  bishop  amenable  for  his  conduct? 
"Ans.  To  the  General  Conference,  who  have  power  to  expel  him 
for  improper  conduct,  if  they  see  it  necessary."  * 

But  under  this  rule  it  would,  of  course,  have  been  essential 
to  show  that  Bishop  Andrew  had  been  guilty  of  "improper 
conduct/'  But  in  the  sense  in  which  the  phrase,  "improper 
conduct"  was  understood,  such  an  attempt  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Both  the  bishop  and  his  wife  were  spoken  of  during  the 
debate  in  highly  complimentary  terms,  as  the  following  from 
the  concluding  portion  of  the  second  speech  of  Dr.  Olin  will 
show.    The  Doctor  began  as  follows: 

"I  believe  we  are  all  prepared  to  recognize  the  right  of  southern 
brethren  to  hold  slaves  under  the  provisions  of  the  Discipline. 
...  I  am  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  saying  that  no  man  who  is 
a  Methodist,  and  deserves  a  place  among  us,  can  call  in  Question 
here  any  rights  secured  by  our  charter.  I  do  not  say  that  he  may 
not  be  a  very  honest,  or  a  very  pious  man,  who  doubts  the  com- 
patibility of  slaveholding,  on  the  conditions  of  the  Discipline,  with 
the  ministerial  office;  but  in  this  he  is  not  a  Methodist.  He  may  be 
a  very  good  man;  but  he  is  a  very  bad  Methodist." 

The  speaker  then  paid  a  warm  tribute  of  praise  to  Bishop 
Andrew,  declaring  him  to  be  pre-eminently  fitted  for  his  great 
office,  and  saying: 

"I  know  of  no  man  who  has  been  so  bold  an  advocate  for  the 
interest  of  the  slaves;  and  when  I  have  been  constrained  to  refrain 
from  saying  what  perhaps  I  should  have  said,  I  have  heard  him 
at  camp-meetings  and  on  other  public  occasions  call  fearlessly  on 
masters  to  see  to  the  spiritual  and  temporal  interests  of  their 
slaves  as  a  high  Christian  duty." 


*This  last  clause  was  changed  in  1872,  so  as  to  read:  "  To  the  General  Con- 
ference, who  "hall  have  power  to  order  the  manner  of  his  trial." 


298 


The  General  Conference. 


The  Doctor  in  conclusion  indorsed  the  Finley-Trimble  reso- 
lution as  one  which  "proposes  no  punishment;  it  does  not  even 
censure.  It  expresses  no  opinion  of  the  bishop's  conduct.  It 
only  seeks  to  avert  diastrous  results  by  the  exercise  of  the  con- 
servative, self-preserving  powers  of  this  Conference."  This 
testimony  to  the  high  personal  and  official  character  of  the 
bishop  is  valuable;  but  the  vain  attempt  at  making  the  pro- 
posed measure  a  basis  of  reconciliation  only  gained  him  the 
credit  from  the  south  of  "speaking  on  both  sides  of  the 
question/' 

It  is  pleasant  to  recall  the  fact  that  no  word  of  complaint 
against  Bishop  Andrew  or  of  his  excellent  wife  was  spoken  in  all 
the  heat  of  that  fiery  debate.  But  in  the  minds  of  the  majority 
of  the  house  he  had  been  guilt}r  of  an  unpardonable  sin;  unless, 
indeed,  he  should  come  to  be  able  to  repent  of  what  his  con- 
science did  not  tell  him  was  wrong. 

In  that  memorable  debate  along  the  low  grounds  above 
indicated,  here  and  there  appears  a  sentence  worthy  of  a  great 
man  on  a  great  occasion.  As  a  specimen  take  the  following 
words  of  Bishop  Soule.  Using  the  liberty  then  allowed  to 
bishops  of  speaking  as  a  member  of  the  house,  he  proceeded  as 
follows : 

"I  cau  not,  and  I  need  not,  conceal  from  you,  sir,  or  from  this 
General  Conference,  that  since  the  commencement  of  this  session 
I  have  been  the  subject  of  deep  mental  distress  and  agony.  But, 
in  this  respect,  the  season  of  my  bitterness  has  passed  away.  .  .  . 
I  am,  I  assure  you,  willing,  entirely  willing,  so  far  as  I  am  myself 
concerned,  to  be  immolated;  but  I  can  be  immolated  only  on  one 
altar,  and  that  altar  is  the  union  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  You  can  not— all  the  powers  of  earth  can  not— immolate 
me  upon  a  northern  altar  or  a  southern  altar." 

Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  of  Georgia,  replying  to  the  arguments 
on  "expediency,"  said: 

"Of  all  notions  that  were  ever  defended  before  a  body  of  Chris- 
tian ministers,  the  notion  of  asking  an  act  of  this  sort  (i.  e.,  the 
resignation  of  Bishop  Andrew)  on  the  ground  of  'expediency.' 
when  it  is  as  inexpedient  for  one  portion  of  a  united  body  of  Chris- 
tians to  do  t;his  as  it  is  expedient  for  the  other  that  it  should  be 
done,  is  to  me  the  most  fearful  mockery  of  sound  logic.  Do  that 
which  is  inexpedient  for  us,  because  for  you  it  is  expedient?  Never 
while  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth  let  that  be  recorded  on  the 


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299 


journals  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church!  Do  you  ask  us  how  this  matter  is  to  be  met?  It  is  to  be 
met  by  the  conservative  principles  and  the  compromise  laws  of  this 
book  of  Discipline.  Show  your  people  that  Bishop  Andrew  has 
violated  any  one  of  the  established  rules  and  regulations  of  this 
Church,  and  you  put  yourselves  in  the  right  and  us  in  the  wrong." 

Such  a  challenge  from  such  a  source  was  not  to  be  put 
aside.  Something  besides  "expediency"  must  be  considered. 
The  power  of  a  two-thirds  northern  majority  was  not,  after  all, 
the  final  court  of  appeal.  It  began  to  dawn  upon  the  minds  of 
some  of  the  brethren  from  that  section  of  the  Church  that,  such 
a  method  of  dealing  with  a  Methodist  bishop  would  not  make  a 
creditable  page  in  Methodist  history.  Accordingly,  a  substi- 
tute was  moved  by  two  members  from  Ohio,  James  B.  Finley 
and  Joseph  M.  Trimble,  as  follows: 

"Whereas,  The  Discipline  of  our  Church  forbids  the  doing 
anything  calculated  to  destroy  our  itinerant  general  superintend- 
ency;  and 

"Whereas,  Bishop  Andrew  has  become  connected  with  slavery 
by  marriage  and  otherwise,  and  this  act  has  drawn  after  it  cir- 
cumstances which,  in  the  estimation  of  this  General  Conference, 
will  greatly  embarrass  the  exercise  of  his  office  as  an  itinerant 
general  superintendent,  if  not  in  some  places  absolutely  prevent 
it;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  General  Conference  that 
he  desist  from  the  exercise  of  this  office  so  long  as  this  impediment 
remains." 

This  was  a  more  decent  and  not  less  "expedient"  proposal, 
for  it  evaded,  as  did  the  Griffith-Davis  resolution,  the  only  dis- 
ciplinary method  of  procedure.  It  was  on  this  resolution  that 
Dr.  Hamline  made  his  famous  speech  which  is  understood  to 
have  won  for  him  a  bishop's  chair.  It  was  a  legally  logical 
speech,  entering  into  the  distinction  between  constitutional  and 
statutory  law,  to  which  latter  class  the  section  on  the  respon- 
sibility of  bishops  to  the  General  Conference  belonged.  He 
affirmed  that  this  section  had  no  place  as  constitutional  law; 
it  had  never  been  recognized  and  had  no  history  as  such,  and 
the  General  Conference  in  ten  minutes  might  expunge  it  from 
the  Discipline,  and  put  a  different  section  in  its  place.  Under 
it  Bishop  Andrew  had  no  vested  rights.  He  was,  as  a  bishop, 
made  by  the  General  Conference,  as  was  the  case  with  all  other 


300 


The  General  Conference. 


general  officers  of  the  Church;  and  the  power  to  retire  him, 
or  expel  him  if  need  be,  even  if  there  were  no  such  section  in 
the  Discipline  at  all,  resided  with  the  General  Conference. 
He  contended  that  the  Conference  held  all  powers  which  were 
not,  by  historic  position  or  constitutional  enactment,  denied 
to  it.  The  retiring  or  expelling  a  bishop  was  not  one  of  the 
things  which  the  General  Conference  was  forbidden  to  do. 
There  was  no  "restrictive  rule"  against  it;  therefore  the  charge 
brought  by  the  Southern  delegates  that  it  was  a  crime  against 
the  Discipline  to  attempt  to  suspend  or  remove  Bishop  Andrew 
without  due  and  formal  trial  was  unfounded.  The  General 
Conference  was  not  bound  or  limited  by  any  mere  statutory 
provisions  of  the  Discipline;  for  the  Discipline  itself  was,  like 
the  bishops,  a  creature  of  the  General  Conference. 

The  argument  of  Dr.  Hamline  was  thought  to  be  un- 
answerable. Moreover,  it  was  just  the  doctrine  which  the 
majority  of  the  body,  who  were  bent  on  passing  the  Finley- 
Trimble  resolution,  needed  to  justify  their  proposed  action.  It 
was  also  shown  that  if  the  bishops  were  not  subordinate  to 
the  General  Conference  like  the  other  officers  which  it  elected, 
but  constituted  a  co-ordinate  section  of  the  governing  power 
of  the  Church,  there  was  a  possibility  of  the  Episcopacy  com- 
ing to  be  strong  enough  to  defy  the  Conference;  a  state  of  things 
which  would  mean  havoc  and  ruin  in  the  body.  In  reply  to 
the  great  speech  of  Dr.  Hamline,  Drs.  Smith  and  TYlnans  struck 
at  the  substance  of  it  as  utterly  subversive  of  the  rights  of 
the  minority,  and  as  nullifying  one  of  the  co-ordinate  branches 
of  the  Church  government.  A  General  Conference  acting  in 
a  judicial  or  other  capacity  is  bound  to  proceed  by  its  own  laws 
and  to  observe  its  own  statutes  until  properly  altered;  as  much 
so  as  an  inferior  judicatory.  Whoever  claims  protection  ac- 
cording to  those  statutory  laws  is  constitutionally  entitled  to 
it;  otherwise  a  majority  doing  its  own  will  is  an  unbearable 
tyranny.  The  case  under  consideration,  they  maintained,  was 
specifically  covered  and  protected  by  laws  and  statutes  which 
had  stood  since  1816,  and  had  been  reiterated;  and  had  so 
kept  the  peace  between  the  two  sections  of  the  Church  that  the 
sacredness  of  a  "compromise"  attached  to  them."  (McTyeire's 
History  of  Methodism,  p.  631.) 


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301 


The  voices  of  Hamline  and  Peck  and  Griffith  and  Bangs, 
of  Winans  and  Early  and  Longstreet  and  Smith,  are  silent  ; 
but  their  echoes  have  been  often  heard  in  the  Governing  Con- 
ference, fighting  over  again  this  great  contention  of  1844. 
The  strenuous  efforts  so  lately  made  to  find  or  make  a  larger 
"constitution"  for  the  Church  belong  to  this  section  of  its 
history.  In  1896  the  long  preparing  labor  culminated:  But 
though  episcopal  sympathy  and  assistance  greatly  sustained 
the  "Committee  on  Constitution,"  its  carefully-adjusted  scheme 
for  enlarging  the  territory  in  which  the  General  Conference 
should  itself  be  under  restraint,  failed;  and  at  the  closing  hour 
the  precious  document,  with  all  its  wise  provisions  and  all  its 
shrewd  amendments,  was,  with  scant  courtesy,  laid  on  the  table. 
Not  readily  does  the  Methodist  General  Conference  part  with 
power. 

The  bishops  in  1844,  as  they  saw  the  day  approaching, 
determined  to  make  one  more  effort  to  save  their  colleague 
and  to  save  the  Church.  On  the  30th  of  May,  when  nearing 
a  vote,  the  Conference  was  requested  by  Bishop  Hedding  "to 
hold  no  afternoon  session,  and  thus  allow  the  bishops  to  con- 
sult together,  with  a  hope  that  they  might  be  able  to  present 
a  plan  of  adjusting  our  present  difficulties."  "The  suggestion 
was  received  with  general  and  great  cordiality,  and  on  motion 
the  discussion  of  the  [Finley-Trimble]  substitute  was  post- 
poned until  to-morrow  morning."  (Minutes  of  General  Con- 
ference of  1844,  p.  74. 

On  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  May  Bishop  Waugh,  on  be- 
half of  the  Episcopal  Board,  presented  an  address  in  which 
it  was  proposed  to  refer  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1848;  he  being  meanwhile  employed  in  those 
localities  in  which  his  labors  would  be  acceptable.  This  plan 
was  so  well  received  that  there  was  hope  of  its  adoption.  All 
the  southern  delegates  favored  it,  and  so  did  many  of  the 
more  conservative  members  from  the  north.  Its  consideration 
was  fixed  for  the  following  day,  but  when  the  time  arrived, 
Bishop  Hedding  withdrew  his  name  from  the  address.  He  said 
he  had  signed  it  because  he  thought  it  would  be  a  peace  measure, 
but  facts  had  come  to  his  knowledge  since  which  led  him  to 
believe  that  such  would  not  be  the  case.    (Ibid,  p.  81.)  This 


302 


The  General  Conference. 


act  of  Bishop  Hedding  appears*  to  have  defeated  the  measure, 
for  in  spite  of  it,  a  motion  to  lay  it  on  the  table  only  prevailed 
by  a  vote  of  95  to  84. 

It  now  became  an  interesting  question  what  those  "facts" 
were  which  led  the  bishop  to  withdraw  his  name  from  the 
address.  They  were  not  published  until  twenty-five  years  later. 
It  then  transpired  that  the  Council  of  the  Bishops  suggested 
by  Bishop  Hedding  had  alarmed  the  delegates  from  the  con- 
ferences in  Xew  England.  Whereupon  they  at  once  "called  a 
meeting  and  signed  a  paper,  declaring  in  substance  that  it 
was  their  solemn  conviction  that  if  Bishop  Andrew  should  be 
left  by  the  General  Conference  in  the  exercise  of  episcopal 
functions,  it  would  break  up  most  of  the  New  England  con- 
ferences, and  that  the  only  way  to  be  holden  together  would 
be  to  secede  in  a  body,  and  invite  Bishop  Hedding  to  preside 
over  them."  (Methodist  Quarterly  Review,  April,  1871;  as 
quoted  in  McTyeire's  History  of  Methodism,  p.  636.) 

The  vote  on  the  Finley-Trimble  resolution  was  -then  pres- 
ently reached,  which  resulted  in  its  adoption  by  111  yeas  to 
69  nays. 

But  even  this  overwhelming  majority  vote  could  not  be 
accepted  as  equivalent  to  the  final  dissolution  of  the  Church. 
On  the  3d  of  June  H.  Slicer  and  T.  B.  Sargent,  both  of  the 
Baltimore  Conference,  presented  resolutions,  affirming,  first, 
that  the  vote  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew  be  considered  as 
advisory  only,  and  not  in  the  light  of  a  judicial  mandate; 
second,  that  the  final  disposition  of  his  case  be  referred  to  the 
General  Conference  of  1848,  as  suggested  in  the  Bishops'  Ad- 
dress of  the  31st  of  May.  (Ibid,  p.  85.)  These  resolutions 
were  laid  on  the  table  "for  the  present,"  but  they  never  ap- 
peared again. 

Then  followed  the  series  of  resolutions  prepared  by  Dr. 
Capers,  of  South  Carolina,  proposing:  First,  a  territorial  di- 
vision of  the  Church  into  two  General  Conferences,  the  division 
following  the  line  separating  the  slave  states  from  the  free 
states.  Second,  each  of  these  bodies  to  have  the  same  powers  as 
the  present  General  Conference,  with  certain  enumerated  excep- 
tions.  Third,  these  two  bodies  to  be  designated  as  the  Southern 


Slavery. 


303 


General  Conference  and  the  Northern  General  Conference. 
Fourth,  three-fourths  of  all  the  annual  conferences  having  voted 
in  favor  of  this  plan,  the  southern  annual  conferences  were  to 
hold  a  delegated  General  Conference  in  the  city  of  Nashville  on 
the  first  day  of  May,  1848.  Fifth,  the  Book  Concern  to  be  held 
and  conducted  for  the  benefit  of  all  the  annual  conferences  as 
heretofore;  the  editors  and  agents  to  be  electetd  at  a  joint  session 
of  the  two  bodies.  Sixth,  the  same  arrangement  to  be  made 
with  respect  to  the  foreign  missions  of  the  dual  Church.  These 
resolutions  shared  the  same  fate  as  those  above  mentioned. 

Next  came  that  document  over  which  more  contention  has 
been  heard  since  the  great  disruption  than  over  any  other 
action  of  that  momentous  session ;  viz.,  the  declaration  presented 
on  the  5th  of  June  by  A.  B.  Longstreet,  of  the  Georgia  Con- 
ference, on  behalf  of  the  delegations  from  the  southern  and 
southwestern  conferences.  The  point  in  dispute  was,  and  still 
is,  whether  or  not  this  declaration  constituted  an  act  of  "seces- 
sion" by  the  conferences  therein  represented.  It  was  read,  as 
follows: 

"The  delegates  of  the  conferences  of  the  slaveholding  states 
take  leave  to  declare  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  that  the  continued  agitation  on  the  subject  of 
slavery  and  abolition  in  a  portion  of  the  Church,  and  the  frequent 
action  on  that  subject  by  the  General  Conference,  and  especially 
the  extra-judicial  proceedings  against  Bishop  Andrew,  which  re- 
sulted, on  Saturday  last,  in  the  virtual  suspension  of  him  from  his 
office  as  superintendent,  must  produce  a  state  of  things  in  the 
south  which  renders  a  continuance  of  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Gen- 
eral Conference  over  these  conferences  inconsistent  with  the  success 
of  the  ministry  in  the  slaveholding  states." 

This  was  signed  by  fifty-one  southern  delegates,  the  entire 
list,  excepting  one  from  Texas.  The  communication  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  nine,  Rev.  Messrs.  Paine,  Fillmore, 
Akers,  Bangs,  Crowder,  Sargent,  Winans,  Hamline,  and  Porter. 
(Minutes  of  General  Conference,  1844,  p.  109.) 

As  this  was  not  in  the  form  of  a  "resolution,"  it  evidently 
was  not  entitled,  perhaps  not  intended,  to  call  for  an  official 
response  by  the  Conference;  nevertheless,  the  body  treated  it 
as  a  proper  subject  for  action;  and,  on  motion  of  J.  B.  McFerrin, 


304 


Hie  General  Conference. 


of  Tennessee,  seconded  by  Tobias  Spencer,  of  the  Troy  Con- 
ference, it  was 

"Resolved,  That  this  committee  be  instructed,  provided  they 
can  not  in  their  judgment  devise  a  plan  for  an  amicable  adjustmenl 
of  the  difficulties  now  existing  in  the  Church  on  the  subject  of 
slavery,  to  devise,  if  possible,  a  constitutional  plan  for  a  mutual 
and  friendly  division  of  the  Church." 

On  the. 6th  of  June,  two  days  before  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  nine,  the  bishops  requested  an  answer  from  the  Con- 
ference to  the  following  questions: 

"1.  Shall  Bishop  Andrew's  name  remain  as  it  now  stands  in 
the  Minutes,  Hymn-book,  and  Discipline,  or  shall  it  be  struck  off 
of  those  official  records? 

"2.  How  shall  the  bishop  obtain  his  support?  As  provided  for 
in  the  form  of  Discipline,  or  in  some  other  way? 

"3.  What  work,  if  any,  may  the  bishop  perform?  and  how  shall 
he  be  appointed  to  the  work?" 

In  reply  to  these  inquiries  of  the  bishops,  John  T.  Mitchell, 
of  the  Rock  River  Conference,  offered  the  following  resolutions: 

"Resolved,  1.  As  the  sense  of  this  Conference,  that  Bishop  An- 
drew's name  stand  in  the  Minutes,  Hymn-book,  and  Discipline  as 
formerly. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  the  rule  in  relation  to  the  support  of  a  bishop 
and  his  family  applies  to  Bishop  Andrew. 

"Resolved,  3.  That  whether  in  any,  and,  if  any,  in  what  work 
Bishop  Andrew  be  employed,  is  to  be  determined  by  his  own  de- 
'  cision  and  action  in  relation  to  the  previous  action  of  this  Con- 
ference in  his  case." 

It  is  surprising,  but  withal,  highly  creditable  to  the  domi- 
nant anti-slavery  section  of  the  house,  that  all  these  resolutions 
were  cordially  adopted:  The  first  by  a  vote  of  155  yeas  to  17 
nays;  the  second  by  152  yeas  to  1-4  nays;  the  third  by  103 
yeas  to  67  nays.  From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  north  did 
not  regard  any  of  its  actions  as  absolutely  closing  the  case. 

On  the  7th  of  June  "John  Early,  on  behalf  of  the  southern 
delegations,  asked  that  A.  B.  Longstreet  be  added  to  the  com- 
mittee of  nine.  On  motion  the  Conference  refused  to  grant  the 
request."  (Minutes  of  General  Conference  of  1844,  p.  122.) 
This  most  ungracious  action,  following  the  cordial  agreement 
to  the  resolutions  on  behalf  of  Bishop  Andrew  on  the  previous 


Slavery. 


305 


day,  is  difficult  to  account  for.  It  must  have  produced  pro- 
found displeasure  on  the  part  of  the  south. 

Meanwhile,  the  southern  delegations  laid  before  the  Con- 
ference a  protest  against  its  action  in  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew. 
It  bore  the  names  of  fifty-nine  delegates,  most,  but  not  all,  of 
whom  were  from  conferences  in  slaveholding  states,  and 
claimed  to  represent  the  views  of  about  five  thousand  ministers 
and  fifty  thousand  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
This  protest  first  asserted  that  the  action  of  the  Conference 
in  Bishop  Andrew's  case  "was  without  law,  and  contrary  to 
law."  Second,  it  denied  the  right  of  a  General  Conference 
to  proceed  against  a  bishop,  except  upon  charges  of  guilt  and 
under  due  process  of  law.  Third,  it  claimed  that  the  action 
against  Bishop  Andrew  tended  to  the  establishment  of  a 
dangerous  precedent,  which  would  place  any  bishop  in  jeopardy 
to  the  will  and  caprice  of  any  General  Conference.  The  pro- 
test further  set  forth  the  fact  that  the  ground  of  action  by  the 
Conference  against  Bishop  Andrew  was  not  valid:  slavehold- 
ing per  se  not  being  an  offense  against  the  Methodist'  Disci- 
pline. It  had  existed  in  the  Church  from  the  first  under  cer- 
tain provisions  and  limitations,  against  none  of  which  Biship 
Andrew  had  transgressed.  The  claim  of  the  majority  that 
because  bishops  are  constituted  by  the  General  Conference, 
they  may  also  be  removed  by  them  at  pleasure,  was  also  sharply 
denied. 

It  is  matter  of  interest  in  this  connection,  that  this  last 
mentioned  point  in  the  protest  was  afterwards  conceded  by  the 
northern  section  of  the  divided  Church.  In  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1872  the  power  of  expelling  a  bishop  on  their  own 
judgment  was  surrendered,  and  the  section  containing  that 
provision  was  made  to  stand,  as  it  now  remains,  viz.:  "A  bishop 
is  answerable  for  his  conduct  to  the  General  Conference,  who 
shall  have  power  to  order  the  manner  of  his  trial."  (Sherman's 
History  of  the  Discipline,  p.  208,  8.) 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  and  reply  to  the 
protest  of  the  southern  brethren;  but  all  it  could  do  was  to 
restate  the  doctrine  of  Dr.  Hamline's  great  speech.  However, 
two  new  facts  were  brought  to  light:  First,  it  was  stated  that 
the  deed  of  trust  by  which  Bishop  Andrew  had  conveyed  to 
20 


306 


The  General  Conference. 


his  wife  his  interest  in  the  slaves  owned  by  her  at  the  time 
of  their  marriage,  provided  that  the  said  slaves  should  be  held 
in  trust  "for  the  joint  use  of  himself  and  his  wife;  and  of  whom 
the  survivor  is  to  be  the  sole  owner."  Second,  it  was  made 
to  appear  that  Bishop  Andrew,  in  view  of  the  difficulties  of 
his  situation,  did  at  one  time  contemplate  resigning  his  office 
as  bishop,  but  that  his  southern  brethren,  learning  of  his  half- 
formed  purpose,  led  him  to  abandon  it.  (Minutes  of  General 
Conference  of  1844,  Appendix,  p.  201.) 

On  the  8th  of  June  the  committee  of  nine  made  its  report 
as  follows: 

"The  select  committee  of  nine  to  consider  and  report  on  the 
declaration  of  the  delegates  from  the  conferences  of  the  slavehold- 
ing states,  beg  leave  to  submit  the  following  report: 

"Whereas,  A  declaration  has  been  presented  to  this  General 
Conference,  with  the  signatures  of  fifty-one  delegates  of  the  body, 
from  thirteen  annual  conferences  in  the  slaveholding  states,  repre- 
senting that,  for  various  reasons  enumerated,  the  objects  and  pur- 
poses of  the  Christian  ministry  and  Church  organization  can  not  be 
successfully  accomplished  by  them  under  the  jurisdiction  of  this 
General  Conference  as  now  constituted;  and 

"Whereas,  In  the  event  of  a  separation,  a  contingency  to  which 
the  declaration  asks  attention  as  not  improbable,  we  esteem  it  the 
duty  of  this  General  Conference  to  meet  the  emergency  with  Chris- 
tian kindness  and  the  strictest  equity;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  By  the  delegates  of  the  several  annual  conferences 
in  General  Conference  assembled, 

"1.  That,  should  the  annual  conferences  in  the  slaveholding 
states  find  it  necessary  to  unite  in  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  connec- 
tion, the  following  rule  shall  be  observed  with  regard  to  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  such  Connection: — "All  the  societies,  stations,  and 
conferences  adhering  to  the  Church  in  the  south,  by  a  vote  of  a 
majority  of  the  members  of  said  societies,  stations,  and  confer- 
ences, shall  remain  under  the  unmolested  pastoral  care  of  the 
Southern  Church;  and  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  shall  in  no  wise  attempt  to  organize  Churches  or  societies 
within  the  limits  of  the  Church  South,  nor  shall  they  attempt  to 
exercise  any  pastoral  oversight  therein;  it  being  understood  that  the 
ministry  of  the  south  reciprocally  observe  the  same  rule  in  relation 
to  stations,  societies,  and  conferences  adhering,  by  vote  of  a  ma- 
jority, to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church;  provided  also,  that  *Jiis 
rule  shall  apply  only  to  societies,  stations,  and  conferences  border- 
ing on  the  line  of  division,  and  not  to  interior  charges,  which  shall 
Id  all  cases  be  left  to  the  care  of  that  Church  within  whose  territory 
they  are  situated. 


Slavery. 


307 


"2.  That  ministers,  local  and  traveling,  of  every  grade  and  office 
in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  may,  as  they  prefer,  remain  in 
that  Church,  or,  without  blame,  attach  themselves  to  the  Church 
South. 

"3.  Resolved,  By  the  delegates  of  all  the  annual  conferences  in 
General  Conference  assembled,  That  we  recommend  to  all  the  an- 
nual conferences,  at  their  first  approaching  sessions,  to  authorize  :i 
change  in  the  Sixth  Restrictive  Article,  so  that  the  first  clause  shall 
read  thus:  'They  shall  not  appropriate  the  produce  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern, nor  of  the  Chartered  Fund,  to  any  other  purpose  other  than 
for  the  benefit  of  the  traveling,  supernumerary,  superannun  ^d, 
and  worn-out  preachers,  their  wives,  widows,  and  children,  and  to 
such  other  purposes  as  may  be  determined  upon  by  the  votes  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  General  Conference.' 

"4.  That  whenever  the  annual  conferences,  by  a  vote  of  three- 
fourths  of  all  their  members  voting  on  the  third  resolution,  shall 
have  concurred  in  the  recommendation  to  alter  the  Sixth  Restrictive 
Article,  the  Agents  at  New  York  and  Cincinnati  shall,  and  they  are 
hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  deliver  over  to  any  authorized 
agent  or  appointee  of  the  Church  South,  should  one  be  organized, 
all  notes  and  book  accounts  against  the  ministers,  Church  members, 
or  citizens  within  its  boundaries,  with  authority  to  collect  the  same 
for  the  sole  use  of  the  Southern  Church,  and  that  said  Agents  also 
convey  to  the  aforesaid  agent  or  appointee  of  the  south  all  the  real 
estate,  and  assign  to  him  all  the  property,  including  presses,  stock, 
and  all  right  and  interest  connected  with  the  printing  establishments 
at  Charleston,  Richmond,  and  Nashville,  which  now  belong  to  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"5.  That  when  the  annual  conferences  shall  have  approved  the 
aforesaid  change  in  the  Sixth  Restrictive  Article,  there  shall  be 
transferred  to  the  above  agent  of  the  Southern  Church  so  much  of 
the  capital  and  produce  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern  as  will,  with 
the  notes,  book  accounts,  presses,  etc.,  mentioned  in  the  last  reso- 
lution, bear  the  same  proportion  to  the  whole  property  of  said 
Concern  that  the  traveling  preachers  in  the  Southern  Church  shall 
bear  to  all  the  traveling  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church;  the  division  to  be  made  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of 
traveling  preachers  in  the  forthcoming  Minutes. 

"6.  That  the  above  transfer  shall  be  in  the  form  of  annual  pay- 
ments of  $25,000  per  annum,  and  specifically  in  stock  of  the  Book 
Concern,  and  in  southern  notes  and  accounts  due  the  establishment, 
and  accruing  after  the  first  transfer  mentioned  above;  and  until  the 
payments  are  made,  the  Southern  Churah  shall  share  in  all  the  net 
profits  of  the  Book  Concern,  in  the  proportion  that  the  amount  due 
them,  or  in  arrears,  bears  to  all  the  property  of  the  Concern. 

"7.  That  Nathan  Bangs,  George  Peck,  and  James  B.  Finley  be, 
and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  commissioners  to  act  in  concert  with 


308 


The  General  Conference. 


the  same  number  of  commissioners  appointed  by  the  southern  organ- 
ization (should  one  be  formed),  to  estimate  the  amount  which  will 
fall  due  to  the  south  by  the  preceding  rule,  and  to  have  full  powers 
to  carry  into  effect  the  whole  arrangements  proposed  with  regard 
to  the  division  of  property,  should  the  separation  take  place.  And 
if  by  any  means  a  vacancy  occurs  in  this  board  of  commissioners, 
the  Book  Committee  at  New  York  shall  fill  said  vacancy. 

"8.  That  whenever  any  agents  of  the  Southern  Church  are 
clothed  with  legal  authority  or  corporate  power  to  act  in  the  prem- 
ises, the  Agents  at  New  York  are  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  act  in  concert  with  said  southern  agents,  so  as  to  give  the  pro- 
visions of  these  resolutions  a  legally  binding  force. 

"9.  That  all  the  property  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  meeting-houses,  parsonages,  colleges,  schools,  conference  funds, 
cemeteries,  and  of  every  kind  within  the  limits  of  the  southern 
organization,  shall  be  for  ever  free  from  any  claim  set  up  on  the 
part  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  so  far  as  this  resolution 
can  be  of  force  in  the  premises. 

"10.  That  the  Church  so  formed  in  the  south  shall  have  a  com- 
mon right  to  use  all  the  copyrights  in  possession  of  the  Book  Con- 
cerns at  New  York  and  Cincinnati  at  the  time  of  the  settlement 
by  the  commissioners. 

"11.  That  the  Book  Agents  at  New  Y^ork  be  directed  to  make 
such  compensation  to  the  conferences  south,  for  their  dividend  from 
the  Chartered  Fund,  as  the  commissioners  above  provided  for  shall 
agree  upon. 

"12.  That  the  bishops  be  respectfully  requested  to  lay  that  part 
of  this  report  requiring  the  action  of  the  annual  conferences  before 
them  as  soon  as  possible,  beginning  with  the  New  York  Conference." 

To  this  momentous  list  of  propositions  the  south  as  well 
as  the  north  agreed.  During  the  time  of  their  presentation 
and  the  final  action  thereon  the  southern  delegations  made  no 
reply;  hut  their  voting  upon  them,  as  well  as  their  taking  part 
in  the  elections  of  bishops,  in  the  interest  of  their  own  candi- 
date, Edmund  S.  Janes,  proves  that  they  did  not  consider  either 
their  "declaration"  or  their  "protest"  as  an  act  of  secession 
from  the  Church. 

All  the  propositions,  as  above  reported,  were  peacefully 
adopted,  some  of  them  hy  overwhelming  majorities  of  the  entire 
house,  on  yea  and  nay  votes.  For  example:  The  first  item  was 
adopted  by  a  vote  of  147  yeas  to  22  nays;  the  second  by  a  vote 
of  135  yeas -to  18  nays;  the  third  by  147  yeas  to  12  nays.  The 
fifth,  on  which  the  yeas  and  nays  were  next  called  for,  by  a 


Slavery. 


309 


vote  of  153  yeas  to  13  nays,  etc.  The  nays  did  not  include 
a  single  prominent  southern  name. 

The  only  remaining  point  of  interest  in  this  memorable, 
epoch-making  Council  of  the  Church  is  the  adoption  of  the 
final  report  of  the  Committee  on  Slavery.  It  proposed  that 
the  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1840  relative  to  re- 
ceiving testimony  of  colored  persons  in  trials  of  white  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  be  rescinded;  but  declared  that  it  was  inex- 
pedient to  take  further  action  concerning  the  subject  of  slavery. 
Thus,  with  nearly  a  two-thirds  majority  of  the  body  on  their 
side,  the  abolitionists  allowed  the  Discipline  to  stand  as  afore- 
time, according  to  which  the  mere  holding  of  slaves  was  no 
offense  against  the  law  of  the  Church  in  states  where  the  laws 
did  not  admit  of  emancipation. 

The  chapter  on  slavery  remained  untouched  until  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1864.  Then,  with  the  awful  echoes  of  a 
colossal  civil  war  resounding  in  their  ears,  that  body  adopted 
and  sent  down  to  the  annual  conferences  a  proposition  to 
change  the  General  Rules  of  the  Church,  so  as  to  make  "slave- 
holding,"  as  well  as  "buying  and  selling  slaves"  a  bar  to  Church 
membership.  But  before  the  official  action  of  the  annual  con- 
ferences could  be  officially  reported  to  the  Great  Council  of 
1868,  God  and  Abraham  Lincoln  and  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  had  stamped  out  slavery  from  the  nation. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FRATERNAL  RELATIONS. 

r  I  THE  appearance  of  a  fraternal  delegation  from  the  Meth- 
odist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  at  the  General  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Baltimore  in  the  year 
1876  is  a  part  of  the  greatest  miracle  ever  recorded  in  ecclesias- 
tical history  since  the  Christian  era  began.  It  affords  a  proof 
not  only  of  the  supernatural  possibilities  of  saving  grace,  but 
also  gives  a  sweet  suggestion  of  that  depth  of  love  and  unity 
in  the  hearts  of  all  true  Methodists  which  floods  and  fires 
can  not  drown  or  bury.  In  order  to  a  full  appreciation  of  this 
great  event,  a  brief  review  of  the  history  of  those  memorable 
years  between  1844  and  1876  must  here  be  given. 

Immediately  on  the  adjournment  of  the  General  Conference 
of  1844  the  southern  delegates  held  an  informal  meeting  and, 
without  waiting  for  the  action  of  the. annual  conferences  on 
the  Plan  of  Separation,  they  determined  to  call  a  convention 
of  their  ministers  at  Louisville,  Ivy.,  on  the  first  of  May,  1845. 
During  the  year  which  followed  the  vast  majority  of  the 
southern  ministers  and  members  gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the 
Plan  of  Separation,  and  prepared  to  become  members  of  a 
Southern  Methodist  body;  but  some  in  the  border  conferences 
refused. 

The  Louisville  convention,  acting  upon  what  they  deemed 
their  undoubted  right  under  the  action  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1844,  solemnly  renounced  all  allegiance  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  en- 
acted that  the  annual  conferences  represented  at  that  con- 
vention "are  hereby  constituted  a  separate  ecclesiastical  con- 
nection, based  on  the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and 1  comprehending  the  doctrines  and  entire  moral, 
ecclesiastical,  and  economical  rules  and  regulations  of  said  Dis- 
cipline; except  only  in  so  far  as  verbal  alterations  may  be  neces- 

810 


Fraternal  Relations. 


tfll 


sary  to  a  distinct  organization:  and  to  be  known  by  the  style 
and  title  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churchy  South."  (Dr. 
Myers  on  the  Disruption:  as  quoted  by  McTyeire,  pp.  642,  643.) 

Pursuant  to  the  action  of  this  organizing  convention,  their 
first  General  Conference  met  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  on  the  first 
of  May,  1846.  The  body  numbered  87  members.  John  Early 
presided  until  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Andrew.  Bishop  Soule, 
who  had  determined  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  south,  soon 
after  appeared  and  both  these  bishops,  without  any  further 
form  of  election,  were  invited  to  take  up  the  exercise  of  epis- 
copal functions  in  the  new  organization.  A  few  days  later 
Dr.  William  Capers  and  Dr.  Eobert  Paine  ,were  added  to  the 
episcopal  force  of  the  new  Church,  and  as  the  entire  Discipline 
and  doctrines  of  the  original  body  had  been  adopted,  it  was 
assumed  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  was  a 
divided  part  of  that  body,  and  under  the  Plan  of  Separation 
entitled  to  their  pro  rata  share  of  the  denominational  property. 

As  a  pledge  of  their  good  faith,  this  first  General  Conference 
of  their  Church  elected  a  fraternal  delegate,  the  Eev.  Lovick 
Pierce,  D.  D.,  to  convey  their  fraternal  salutations  to  the  next 
ensuing  session  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  failure  of  that  mission  was  an  event 
deeply  to  be  deplored,  and  the  history  thereof  is  not  at  all 
creditable  to  the  body  which  turned  this  messenger  away. 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  northern  conferences  had  failed  to 
ratify  the  Plan  of  Separation,  and  the  claim  began  to  be  set 
up,  that,  on  this  account,  the  Southern  Church  was  not  entitled 
to  any  share  in  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern.  They  had 
been  pushed  to  a  position  from  which  retreat  was  impossible, 
and  yet  it  was  alleged  that  they  were  "seceders,"  because 
northern  conferences  had  denied  them  the  right  to  go  in  peace. 
The  south  had  done  all  that  was  possible  on  its  part  to  carry 
out  the  Plan  of  Separation,  as  mutually  agreed  upon  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1844,  and  then  to  be  called  "seceders" 
was  more  than  flesh  and  blood  could  bear.  Commissioners  on 
both  sides  were  appointed  for  the  adjustment  of  difficulties, 
but  those  of  the  north  refused  to  act,  and  referred  the  south 
to  the  General  Conference  of  1848. 

That  assembly  has  been  well  characterized  as  "a  reactionary 


312 


The  General  Conference. 


body  elected  in  a  revolutionary  period.7'  Very  few  of  the  mem- 
bers in  1844  reappeared.  Tfie  temper  of  the  Conference  was 
averse  to  a  Southern  Methodism;  nearly  all  its  members  hav- 
ing been  elected  on  a  pledge  to  repudiate  the  Plan  of  Separa- 
tion. Early  in  the  session,  Dr.  Lovick  Pierce,  the  fraternal 
delegate  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  presented 
himself  and  his  credentials,  to  which,  two  days  later,  the  Con- 
ference made  this  reply: 

"Whereas,  A  letter  from  the  Rev.  L.  Pierce,  D.  D.,  delegate  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  proposing  fraternal  rela- 
tions between  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  been  presented  to  this  Conference; 
and 

"Whereas,  There  are  serious  questions  and  difficulties  exist- 
ing between  the  two  bodies;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  tender  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pierce  all  per- 
sonal courtesies,  and  invite  him  to  attend  our  sessions,  this  General 
Conference  does  not  consider  it  proper  at  present  to  enter  into  fra- 
ternal relations  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South."  (Min- 
utes of  General  Conference  1848,  p.  21.) 

The  Conference  did,  however,  express  its  willingness  to 
hear  communications  from  Dr.  Pierce  relative  to  questions  at 
issue  between  the  two  bodies.  The  above  resolutions  were,  after 
the  amendment  just  recited,  adopted  by  a  vote  of  147.  ~No  one 
voted  nay.  Dr.  Pierce  made  a  dignified  response  to  this  un- 
gracious procedure,  saying: 

"You  will  regard  this  communication  as  final  on  the  part  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  She  will  never  renew  the 
offer  of  fraternal  relations  between  the  two  great  bodies  of  Wes- 
leyan  Methodists  in  the  United  States.  But  the  proposition  can 
be  renewed  at  any  time,  either  now  or  hereafter,  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  And  if  ever  made  upon  the  basis  of  the  Plan 
of  Separation,  as  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  the 
Church  South  will  cordially  entertain  the  proposition." 

On  the  12th  of  May  the  commissioners  from  the  Church 
South,  who  had  been  referred  to  the  General  Conference  of 
1848  for  the  settlement  of  the  claims  of  the  Southern  Church 
upon  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern,  made  their  appear- 
ance. The  result  was  that  on  May  24th  an  almost  unanimous 
vote  was  passed,  declaring  that  "there  exists  no  power  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  pass  any  act  which,  either 


Fraternal  Relations. 


318 


directly  or  indirectly,  effectuates,  authorizes  or  sanctions  a  di- 
vision of  said  Church."  (Journal  of  General  Conference  of 
1848,  p.  43  and  p.  73.)  This  repudiation  of  the  Plan  of  Separa- 
tion barred  the  Conference,  as  it  was  intended  to  do,  from 
any  consideration  of  the  property  claims  of  the  Southern 
Church. 

The  southern  brethren  could  not  fail  to  be  impressed  by 
this  change  of  attitude  as  to  the  powers  of  the  General  Con- 
ference. In  1844,  Dr.  Hamline  had  carried  the  great  majority 
of  the  body  enthusiastically  with  him  while  he  showed  that  the 
Conference  possessed  plenary  powers,  and  was  entitled  to  take 
whatever  action  it  pleased,  except  in  so  far  as  such  action  might 
be  prohibited  by  the  Eestrictive  Rules.  There  was  no  Restrictive 
Rule  which  forbade  the  Conference  to  expel  or  suspend  a  bishop 
without  form  of  trial;  therefore  the  Conference  had  the  power 
and  right  to  expel  or  suspend  Bishop  Andrew.  But  now  the 
opposite  theory  was  maintained.  It  was  somehow  discovered 
that  the  General  Conference  possessed  no  powers,  except  such 
as  were  specifically  given  to  it  by  the  Discipline;  therefore  the 
Conference  of  1844  had  no  authority  to  enact  a  Plan  of  Separa- 
tion, and  that  of  1848  had  no  power  to  divide  any  Church 
property  ;  no  such  powers  having  been  set  down  in  the  Disci- 
pline. This  latter  doctrine  was  as  convenient  for  the  majority 
in  1848  as  was  the  opposite  doctrine  for  the  majority  in  1844. 

Failing  thus  to  obtain  what  they  believed  to  be  their  rights, 
the  Church  South  "appealed  to  Caesar "  And  "Caesar"  vin- 
dicated them.  f 

If  there  is  anything  that  will  provoke  eternal  enmity  be- 
tween brethren,  it  is  a  suit  at  law  over  an  inheritance.  For 
years  this  famous  case  dragged  its  slow  length  along  through 
one  court  after  another  until,  on  the  final  appeal  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  it  was  decided  in  favor  of  the 
Church  South,  and  under  its  judgment  the  Book  Concern  was 
compelled  to  give  over  to  them  the  publishing-houses  at  Rich- 
mond, Charleston,  and  Nashville,  all  accounts  due  from  the 
south,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  dollars  in  money ; 
the  northern  parties  to  the  litigation  being  also  obliged  to 
pay  the  cost  of  suit. 

All  this  while  the  troubles  in  the  border  conferences  had 


314 


The  General  Conference. 


been  raging,  resulting  in  conference  disruptions  and  all  the 
quarrels  thence  resulting  over  local  Church  property. 

Then  the  war!  Four  long  years  of  wholesale  slaughter! 
Northern  Methodists,  by  tens  of  thousands,  invaded  the  south, 
and  southern  Methodists  killed  them.  Back  and  forth  surged 
the  tides  of  death  and  ruin  until,  over  all  the  great  Southland, 
the  grass  grew  rank  on  battle-fields  soaked  with  fraternal  blood, 
and  gashed  with  nameless  graves  in  which  northern  and 
southern  Methodists,  who  had  been  foremost  in  the  fight,  at 
last  slept  peacefully  side  by  side. 

Nor  was  this  enough.  When  the  war  was  nominally  over, 
some  of  the  ministers  and  people  of  the  Church  South  found 
their  sanctuaries  held  by  military  law,  and  occupied  by  northern 
preachers  under  appointment  of  northern  bishops.  And  this 
property  they  were  in  no  haste  to  surrender. 

But  worst  of  all,  the  hated  abolitionists  had  at  last  gained 
their  long  expected  victory.  Slavery  was  dead,  Negroes  once 
worth  a  thousand  dollars  each,  now  roamed  in  idle  bands,  and 
voted  at  elections  where  white  men  had  no  rights,  because  they 
had  not  been  "reconstructed."  For  a  time  the  era  of  the  final 
judgment  was  on  them.  The  first  were  now  last,  and  the  last 
first.  Southern  Methodist  homes  were  sacked,  and  their  plan- 
tations mortgaged  and  rented  out  to  Negroes,  who  once  had 
been  slaves  thereon.  Methodist  churches  and  colleges  had 
been  wrecked  or  burned;  each  side  prayed  to  Heaven  against 
the  other;  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  failed  to  hold  its  appointed  session  in  1862, 
and  the  annual  conferences  breathed  a  feeble  life,  because  so 
many  of  their  ministers  had  laid  down  the  Bible  and  hymn- 
book,  and  taken  up  the  musket  and  the  sword.  Talk  of  "frater- 
nity" between  two  such  bodies  of  men  with  such  mountains  of 
wrath  and  such  seas  of  blood  between  them! 

And  yet  it  is  a  fact!  With  men  it  was  impossible,  but  with 
God  all  things  are  possible. 

In  the  crash  and  carnage  of  battle  men  forgot  all  about 
Churches  and  conferences;  but  when  the  fight  was  over,  great 
numbers  of  "fraternal  relations"  were  established  between  the 
men  in  blue  and  the  men  in  gray.    Take  a  case. 

"See  here,  Yank,  give  me  a  drink  of  water.    I  '11  not  trouble 


Fraternal  Relations. 


315 


you  long/'  It  is  the  voice  of  a  mortally  wounded  rebel,  speak- 
ing to  his  enemy,  who  is  helping  the  medical  staff.  He  at  once 
forgets  all  about  politics,  gives  the  dying  man  a  drink,  puts 
him  in  an  easier  position,  takes  his  name  and  the  address  of 
his  family,  and  then  asks: 

"Is  there  any  thing  else  I  can  do  for  you?" 

"Not  unless  you  know  how  to  pray/'  is  the  reply. 

"0  yes,  I  learned  that  at  a  Methodist  camp-meeting  down 
in  Maine." 

"And  I  was  converted  at  a  Methodist  camp  in  the  ever- 
glades of  Florida,"  says  the  dying  man;  enemy  no  longer,  but 
a  Christian  brother  now.  And  in  the  arms  of  his  once  mortal 
foe  he  leaves  the  world  of  war,  and  starts  for  the  world  of 
peace. 

The  north  and  the  south  never  really  came  to  know  each 
other  until  they  made  acquaintance  in  the  Civil  War.  And 
what  was  true  as  to  the  two  sections  of  the  nation,  was  still 
more  true  of  the  two  sections  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

There  is  a  mystery  too  deep  for  our  poor  philosophy  in  the 
spirit  of  comradeship  which  binds  together  the  hearts  of  brave 
men,  who  have  proved  each  other's  courage  on  the  battle-field. 
Does  it  seem  a  strange  thing  to  say  that  even  the  war  itself 
helped  to  make  fraternity  possible  in  Church  as  well  as  state? 
Well,  every  good  soldier  of  Christ,  both  in  northern  and  south- 
ern armies,  will  not  fail  to  understand  it. 

The  General  Conference  of  1868,  at  the  suggestion  of  the 
bishops,  appointed  a  committee  "to  treat  with  any  other  Meth- 
odist Church  that  may  desire  a  union  with  us."  On  this 
authority,  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson  met  the  southern  bishops 
at  the  city  of  St,  Louis  on  the  7th  of  May,  1869;  but  though  / 
they  were  courteously  received,  they  were  informed  that  the 
action  of  the  Northern  General  Conference  did  not  at  all  apply 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  She  had  no  desire 
for  any  such  "union."  They  also  took  exception  to  the  state- 
ment in  the  letter  of  Bishops  Janes  and  Simpson,  that  "the 
great  cause  which  led  to  the  separation  from  us  of  both  the 
Wesleyan  Methodists  of  this  country  and  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  has  passed  away."  To  this  they  replied: 
"Slavery  was  not,  in  any  proper  sense,  the  cause,  but  the  oc- 


316 


The  General  Conference. 


casion  of  that  separation,  the  necessity  of  which  we  regretted 
as  much  as  you.  What  you  call  the  cause  of  separation  existed 
in  the  Church  from  its  organization,  and  yet  for  sixty  years 
there  was  no  separation/'.  They  reminded  their  visitors  that 
the  General  Conference  at  Pittsburg  had  rejected  their  overture 
of  fraternity,  which  had  been  made  by  the  first  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Church  South,  and  they  protested  against  that 
sentence  in  the  overture  of  the  northern  bishops,  which  spoke 
of  the  Southern  Church  as  having  separated  from  the  original 
body.  "Allow  us,"  say  they,  "in  all  kindness,  brethren,  to  re- 
mind you,  and  to  keep  the  important  fact  of  history  prominent, 
that  we  separated  from  you  in  no  sense  in  which  you  did  not 
separate  from  us/'    (Formal  Fraternity,  p.  11.) 

The  document  further  cites  the  aggressions  of  the  Northern 
Church  upon  southern  territory,  and  the  occupation  of  some 
of  the  Southern  Churches.  This  they  characterize  as  "an  in- 
vasion of  the  plainest  rights  of  property."  After  speaking 
such  plain  words  the  response  of  the  southern  bishops  grows 
more  fraternal.  The  blood  that  is  thicker  than  water  begins 
to  warm  towards  their  co-Methodist  brothers;  and  the  docu- 
ment concludes  with  such  kind  words  as  leave  the  impression 
that,  while  the  Southern  Church  desires  no  reunion  with  the 
north,  they  leave  the  door  wide  open  for  good  faith  and  fellow- 
ship with  it. 

At  the  Southern  General  Conference  of  1870  at  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  and  also  at  that  of  1871  at  Louisville,  Ky., 
fraternal  representatives  appeared  from  the  General  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  but  it  was  not  till  the  ses- 
sion of  that  body  at  Baltimore  in  1876  that  the  Southern 
Church,  after  the  rejection  of  her  first  overture  of  fellowship, 
consented  to  present  herself  once  more  by  a  fraternal  dele- 
gation. 

That  was  a  memorable  day  in  the  General  Conference  of 
1876,  when,  on  the  12th  of  May,  by  their  representatives,  the 
north  and  south  came  together  once  more.  It  was  on  old 
historic  Methodist  ground.  The  senior  member  of  the  Church 
South  delegation,  was  the  now  venerable  and  aged  Dr.  Lovick 
Pierce,  the  very  same  man  who,  in  a  similar  capacity  nearly 
thirty  years  before,  had  presented  himself  at  the  door  of  the 


Fraternal  Relations. 


317 


General  Conference  at  Pittsburg,  and  had  been  coolly  turned 
away.  The  second  member  of  the  delegation  was  the  Rev. 
James  A.  Duncan,  president  of  Randolph  Macon  College  in 
Virginia;  scholarly,  self-poised,  a  man  to  be  looked  at  a  sec- 
ond time,  and  never  to  be  forgotten.  The  third  was  that 
distinguished  southern  layman,  Landon  C.  Garland,  LL.  D., 
chancellor  of  the  Vanderbilt  University  at  Nashville,  one  of 
the  finest  Methodist  institutions  of  learning  at  that  time  in 
the  world. 

On  this  day  the  Conference  reached  its  climax.  The  vast 
assembly  in  the  great  Baltimore  Music  Hall  seemed  impressed 
with  more  than  human  interest  as  they  entered  upon  the  exer- 
cises of  that  heavenly  hour.  It  was  matter  of  deep  regret 
that  the  beloved  Dr.  Pierce  could  not  be  present  in  person 
as  well  as  by  word.  He  had  started  for  the  Conference,  but  had 
broken  down  under  the  infirmities  of  more  than  ninety  years. 
Yet  his  heart  was  there,  and  his  words  were  there,  though  given 
by  another  voice.  In  his  written  address  he  recalled  the  "pro- 
test" of  his  southern  brethren  at  the  General  Conference  of 
1844,  which  was  the  actual  beginning  of  the  great  disruption. 
Then,  sweeping  in  thought  over  the  marvelous  changes  which 
time  and  the  providence  of  God  had  brought  about,  he  wrote: 

"We  (now)  protest  against  any  longer  use  of  the  popular  phrase, 
'two  Methodisms,'  as  between  us.  There  is  but  one  Episcopal 
Methodism  in  the  United  States  of  America,  and  you  and  we  to- 
gether make  up  this  one  Methodism." 

In  reference  to  the  differences  and  difficulties,  so  many  of 
which  remained  to  be  adjusted,  he  said: 

"We  do  not  believe  that  these  difficulties  ever  ought  to  be  dis- 
cussed in  either  General  Conference  at  large.  They  are  delicate, 
sensitive  things,  never  to  be  settled  by  chafing  speeches;  but,  as  we 
believe,  they  can  be  speedily  prayed  and  talked  to  death  by  a 
joint  board  of  discreet  brethren  intent  upon  Christian  peace." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Duncan  was  next  introduced.  Was  there  in 
his  wonderful  address  something  of  the  Spirit  of  heaven,  to 
which  he  was  so  soon  to  ascend?    He  said: 

"Charity  is  a  provision,  not  for  unity,  but  for  diversity.  .  .  . 
Heaven  send  us  rest  from  these  miserable,  unhappy  controversies! 
...  I  am  aware,  Mr.  President,  that  some  persons  will  not 
cease  from  that  kind  of  warfare  in  which  they  have  so  much 


318 


The  General  Conference. 


pleasure.  But,  sir,  harmony  with  such  people  is  simply  impossible; 
the  ouly  harmony  they  ever  know  is  of  some  unhappy  tune  which 
they  alone  can  sing.  .  .  .  Our  proposal  is:  Let  us  appoint  wise 
men  to  adjust  all  questions  of  real  conflict  between  these  two 
Churches;  let  us  pray  the  God  of  all  wisdom  and  peace  to  direct 
them  to  right  conclusions,  and  then  bury  forever  the  weapons  of 
war,  and  move  on  to  the  better,  brighter  conquests  of  peace." 

"And  now,  sir,  what  is  Christian  fraternity?  And  on  what 
ground  do  we  establish  it?  I  answer:  Christian  fraternity  is  the 
reciprocal  recognition  of  Christ  in  each  other.  Where  no  such  re- 
lations to  Christ  exist,  there  can  be  no  fraternity.  There  is  but 
one  principle  of  communion  in  Christianity.  St.  John  has  stated  it 
clearly  and  beautifully:  'Our  fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and 
with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  walk  in  the  light  as  he  is  in 
the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of 
.lesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.'  Ah!  brethren,  in 
that  eternity  to  which  we  are  all  rapidly  advancing,  when  earthly 
enmities  and  all  the  fiery  passions  that  consume  human  peace  shall 
have  sunk  into  ashes,  and  petty  strifes  of  time  shall  seem  but  miser- 
able follies  of  which  we  are  ashamed,  how  many  men  will  wish 
their  bitter  words  had  been  unsaid!"  ("Formal  Fraternity,"  pages 
43-55.) 

This  godly  man  had  not  very  long  to  wait  for  his  share  in 
those  heavenly  harmonies,  for  which  his  prophetic  spirit  listened 
on  that  memorable  day.  He  was  presently  made  a  bishop,  and 
served  a  brief  season  in  the  chief  council  af  the  Southern 
Church,  and  then,  even  in  what  might  have  been  thought 
the  midst  of  his  strength  and  at  the  beginning  of  a  great  career, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  rest  and  the  peace  of  those  who  walk 
with  Christ  in  white. 

Dr.  Garland  closed  this  historic  day  with  wise  and  fraternal 
words.  And  thus  the  miracle  was  wrought.  The  impossible 
had  become  a  fact.  Fraternity  had  been  established.  Peace 
had  come. 

The  Southern  General  Conference,  in  anticipation  of  the 
events  of  that  day  of  days,  had  named  a  commission  under  the 
following  resolution: 

"Remitted,  That  in  order  to  remove  all  obstacles  to  formal  fra- 
ternity between  the  two  Churches,  our  College  of  Bishops  is  author- 
ized to  appoint  a  commission  consisting  of  three  ministers  and  two 
laymen,  to  meet  a  similar  commission  authorized  by  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  adjust  all 
existing  difficulties."    ("Formal  Fraternity,"  page  40.) 


Fraternal  Relations.  319 

That  commission  consisted  of  E.  H.  Myers,  D.  D.,  one  of 
the  chief  historians  of  the  Southern  Church;  R.  K.  Hargrove, 
D.  D.,  Thomas  M.  Finney,  D.  D.,  Hon.  Trusten  Polk,  and  Hon. 
David  Clopton.  With  delicate  courtesy  towards  their  southern 
brethren,  the  General  Conference  at  Baltimore  adopted  an  iden- 
tical resolution  to  that  quoted  above,  and  raised  a  commission 
consisting  of  Morris  D'C.  Crawford,  D.  D.,  Erasmus  Q.  Fuller, 
D.  D.,  Hon.  Enoch  L.  Fancher,  LL.  D.,  General  Clinton  B. 
Fisk,  and  John  P.  Newman,  D.  D. 

This  united  representative  body,  known  in  history  as  "The 
Cape  May  Commission,"  assembled  in  Congress  Hall,  Cape 
May,  New  Jersey,  on  Thursday,  the  17th  of  August,  1876,  and 
proceeded  to  "talk  and  pray  to  death"  the  last  remainders  of 
the  "difficulties,"  which  for  so  many  years  had  kept  the  two 
great  Methodist  bodies  apart. 

But  the  southern  commissioners  stood  by  their  colors  to 
the  last,  and  announced  at  the  outset  that  they  were  not  em- 
powered to  act  in  the  promises,  except  on  the  basis  of  the  "Plan 
of  Separation."  To  this  the  northern  commissioners  gave 
gracious  assent;  and  in  order,  once  for  all,  to  settle  that  long 
controversy,  the  following 

Declaration  and  Basis  of  Fraternity  Between  the  Two 

Churches 

was  unanimously  adopted: 

"Each  of  said  Churches  is  a  legitimate  branch  of  Episcopal 
Methodism,  having  a  common  origin  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  organized  in  1784. 

"Since  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  was  consummated  in  1845  by  the  voluntary  exercise  of  the 
right  of  the  southern  annual  conferences,  ministers  and  members, 
to  adhere  to  that  Communion,  it  has  been  an  evangelical  Church, 
reared  on  Scriptural  foundations;  and  her  ministers  and  members, 
with  those  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  have  constituted  one 
Methodist  family,  though  in  distinct  ecclesiastical  connections." 

This  history  does  not  concern  itself  further  with  the 
business  of  the  Cape  May  Commission,  except  to  say  that 
the  great  expectations  in  reference  to  its  momentous  mis- 
sion of  peace  were  fully  realized.  From  that  day  to  this,  at 
every  session  of  the  General  Conferences  of  Northern  and 


320 


The  General  Conference. 


Southern  Methodism,  fraternal  delegations,  fraternal  in  spirit 
as  well  as  in  name,  have  borne  testimony  to  the  truth  that  God 
hath  made  of  one  spiritual  blood  all  the  good  and  true  Meth- 
odists for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of  the  earth. 

And  now  in  due  historic  order,  after  the  above  departure 
therefrom,  the  bonds  of  Christian  brotherhood  which  have 
bound  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  through  its  Chief 
Council,  to  so  many  other  bodies  of  evangelical  believers  will 
have  consideration. 

Some  writers  have  fallen  into  the  error  of  claiming  as 
Methodists  that  body  of  Arminian  Christians  established  in 
America  by  the  Rev.  Philip  William  Otterbein,  at  Baltimore, 
in  1774;  hence  a  brief  notice  of  the  true  state  of  the  case 
may  be  of  value  here.  Otterbein,  who  had  been  a  min- 
ister in  the  Reformed  Church  in  Germany,  came  out  to 
America  in  about  1752,  but  finding  the  American  Lutherans 
no  more  spiritual  than  those  in  the  home  land,  he  started 
out  to  worship  God  for  himself.  He  first  established  a 
Church  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  the  year  1774,  which  became 
the  nucleus  of  a  considerable  communion  under  the  name 
of  United  Brethren  in  Christ;  of  which  Otterbein  and  Martin 
Boehm  were  the  first  two  bishops.  Between  these  and  the 
.Methodists,  under  the  lead  of  Asbury,  there  was  the  most 
delightful  fraternity,  but  never  an  organic  union.  Their  Ar- 
minian theology,  their  episcopal  form  of  government,  and  their 
truly  spiritual  experience  brought  them  close  together.  Otter- 
bein and  Asbury  were  as  David  and  Jonathan;  and  all  the 
chapels  of  the  United  Brethren  were  gladly  opened  for  the 
itinerants  whenever  any  of  them  appeared.  These  two  famous 
pioneers  preached  together  in  many  notable  revivals,  and  when, 
at  the  General  Conference  of  1781,  Asbury  was  "set  apart" 
as  a  general  superintendent  of  the  Methodists  in  America, 
his  old  friend  Otterbein  assisted  at  the  service. 

In  the  early  days  no  formal  fraternity  was  to  be  expected 
with  the  various  Christian  Churches,  whose  coming  to  the 
Xew  World  had  long  preceded  that  of  the  Methodists.  With 
the  exception  of  Otterbein  and  Boehm,  and  of  the  pious 
Devereux  Jarratt,  whose  Churchmanship  did  not  stand  in  the 
way  of  his  real  religion,  the  clergy  of  other  bodies  showed 


Fraternal  Relations. 


321 


scant  courtesy,  to  say  nothing  of  fraternity,  towards  the  Meth- 
odist preachers,  whom  they  regarded  as  intruders  and  poach- 
ers upon  their  denominational  preserves.  Besides,  with  the 
above-named  exception,  all  the  Churches  were  Calvinistic,  and 
were  therefore  out  of  harmony  with  these  irregular,  untutored 
wanderers,  who  were  profusely  throwing  about  the  olfers  of 
"free  salvation,"  as  if  there  were  no  such  things  as  "election" 
and  "decrees"  in  the  way  of  penitent  sinners. 

The  first  foreign  relations  of  American  Methodism  were 
not  fraternal,  but  paternal.  Mr.  Wesley,  as  the  spiritual  father 
of  them  all,  was  accustomed  to  send  them  his  commands  and 
his  benedictions;  both  of  which  were,  for  a  time,  most  filially 
received.  It  was  at  the  General  Conference  of  1796,  five  years 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  that  the  British  Wesleyan  Con-, 
ference,  which  had  themselves  failed  to  follow  out  all  the  ar- 
rangements made  for  their  benefit  by  their  great  departed 
chief,  sent  a  fraternal  address  to  their  brethren  across  the 
sea.  It  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  address  was  sent  "by  means 
of  our  highly-respected  brother,  Dr.  Coke" — not  "Bishop 
Coke" — for  the  British  Wesleyans  had  repudiated  the  Epis- 
copacy prepared  for  them  by  their  founder  in  the  persons 
of  Mather  and  Coke,  both  of  whom  he  had  ordained  as  general 
superintendents,  one  for  America  and  the  other  for  Great 
Britain.  This  manifest  discourtesy  was  not  adverted,  to  in 
the  reply  of  the  American  Conference,  unless  it  be  in  the 
reference  to  "your  and  our  late  father  in  the  gospel,  the  Eev. 
John  Wesley."  Concerning  him  the  document  proceeds  to 
says:  "We  do  trust,  brethren,  we  shall,  with  you,  persevere 
to  walk  by  the  same  rules,  and  mind  the  same  things" — a 
"trust"  which  has  failed  to  be  realized  far  more  in  Britain 
than  in  America. 

For  some  years  after  the  beginning  of  the  next  century, 
a  state  of  "strained  relations"  existed  between  the  British 
Wesleyan  Conference  and  the  American  General  Conference 
on  account  of  the  extension  of  the  American  Church  into  Can- 
ada. Perhaps,  at  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Eevolution,  it 
was,  politically  speaking,  the  duty  of  the  citizens  of  the  new 
nation  to  abstain  from  encroaching,  even  in  an  ecclesiastical 
way,  upon  the  territory  whose  people  still  were  loyal  to  the 
21 


322 


The  General  Conference. 


British  Crown.  But  this  they  had  not  done.  In  consequence 
whereof  two  Canadian  Methodisms  had  come  into  existence — 
one  American,  and  of  American  origin;  the  other  British,  the 
result  of  British  Wesley  ail  missionary  labor.  For  a  considerable 
period  Canadian  delegates,  not  "fraternal/'  but  for  business 
purposes,  were  present  at  the  sessions  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, representing  an  interest  similar  to  that  of  the  claim 
of  the  Church  South  for  its  rightful  share  of  the  property  of 
the  Book  Concern. 

After  the  war  of  1812  a  serious  contention  arose  in  Upper 
Canada,  which  resulted  in  an  "Enabling  Act"  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1828,  providing  for  the  organization,  under 
specified  conditions,  of  an  independent  Canadian  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  This  body  was  duly  organized  before  the 
close  of  the  year  under  the  presidency  of  Bishop  Hedding. 
From  the  various  and  long-continued  troubles  over  the  north- 
ern border  a  chronic  difficulty  had  developed,  which,  at  suc- 
cessive General  Conferences,  came  to  be  known  as  "the  Canada 
business."  On  this  account  a  coolness  appeared  between  all 
parties  concerned;  and  as  late  as  the  session  of  1832  a  letter 
was  received  by  one  of  the  American  bishops,  stating  that  it 
was  "not  convenient"  for  the  British  Conference  to  send  dele- 
gates to  the  American  General  Conference  at  that  time.  (Jour- 
nal of  General  Conference,  1832,  p.  392,  \  14.) 

But  "the  Canada  business"  was  finished  by  degrees.  One 
step  was  an  agreement  between  the  General  Conference  and 
the  Canada  "Wesleyan  Conferences  that  neither  party  should 
send  preachers  into  the  territory  of  the  other  without  mutual 
consent.  Another  was  the  allowance  of  the  (American)  Cana- 
dian's claim  for  a  share  in  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern. 
Thus,  while  hot  contention  sometimes  appeared  between  the 
several  sorts  of  Methodists  which  set  up  for  themselves  across 
the  northern  border,  the  relations  of  them  all  with  the  General 
Conference  came  at  length  to  be  truly  fraternal.  In  the  rec- 
ords of  those  days  stand  the  names  of  two  of  the  princes  of 
the  Canadian  Israel:  the  Bev.  William  Case,  the  Asbury  of  the 
north,  and  the  Hon.  Egerton  Ryerson,  that  staunch  defender 
of  the  rights  of  Nonconformists  in  the  Colonies  against  the 
pretensions  of  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England. 


fraternal  Relations, 


323 


But  the  brightest  page  in  Canadian  Methodist  history  is 
suggested  by  the  appearance  at  the  General  Conference  of  1888 
of  a  fraternal  delegation  from  "the  Methodist  Church  of 
Canada."  Here  was  another  miracle;  viz.,  the  union  of  the  four 
rival,  contentious,  straitened  bodies  of  Canadian  Methodists 
into  a  compact  and  harmonious  Church.  On  the  occasion  of 
his  reception  by  the  Conference,  the  Rev.  E.  A.  Stafford,  pastor 
of  the  Metropolitan  Church  in  Toronto,  presented  his  creden- 
tials, signed  by  "A.  Carman  and  John  L.  Williams,  General 
Superintendents."  At  the  outset  of  the  movement  for  union 
it  was  evident  that  an  episcopal  form  of  government  could 
not  be  adopted,  whereupon  Bishop  Carman,  renouncing  his 
episcopal  honors,  threw  himself  into  the  enterprise  with  all 
his  heart ;  and  thus  gave  it  a  possible  hope  of  success. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1840,  in  view  of  the  rapid 
increase  of  the  German  population,  among  whom  Henry 
Boehm,  Adam  Miller,  and  William  Nast  had  been  laboring 
with  such  remarkable  success,  it  was  determined  to  send  a 
fraternal  delegation  to  attend  the  ensuing  session  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  the  Evangelical  Association  at  Summit, 
Ohio,  in  1843.  John  F.  Wright,  William  Nast,  and  Nathaniel 
Callender  were  appointed  on  that  mission.  This  body,  JVleth- 
odist  in  doctrine  and  episcopal  in  Church  government,  seemed 
near  enough  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  suggest  the 
possibility  of  a  closer  co-operation,  perhaps  a  corporate  union. 
It  dated  from  the  year  1800,  when,  under  the  episcopate  of 
Jacob  Albright,  it  was  organized  into  a  Church,  with  the 
above-mentioned  name. 

The  delegation  was  cordially  received;  but  the  German 
membership  of  the  Methodists  was  at  that  time  so  small,  and 
that  of  the  Albrights  (as  they  were  commonly  called)  so  large, 
that  only  a  fraternal  relation  could  be  established  between- 
them. 

The  General  Conference  of  1856,  at  Indianapolis,  had  the 
privilege  of  joining  hands  with  the  Irish  Wesleyan  Conference 
through  their  representative,  the  Rev.  Robinson  Scott,  and  also, 
in  an  informal  way,  with  a  branch  of  Methodism  which  had 
been  planted  in  Switzerland,  and  which  held  a  feeble  life 
among  the  French  Alps  and  in  the  fertile  valleys  of  Piedmont. 


324 


The  General  Conference. 


French  Methodism  was,  like  that  in  America,  an  importation 
from  Britain,  its  first  appearance  having  been  in  1791  in  the 
person  of  a  pious  boatman  from  one  of  the  Channel  islands. 
This  man  had  come  over  to  the  coast  of  Normandy  on  a  small 
trading  venture,  and,  in  the  absence  of  the  usual  reader  in 
the  Church  of  the  village  where  he  was  spending  the  Sabbath, 
he  was  invited  to  conduct  the  simple  service.  This  he  was 
forward  to  do.  But  instead  of  reading,  lie  plunged  into  a 
genuine  Methodist  program;  a  large  portion  whereof  consisted 
in  telling  his  experience.  From  that  time,  said  the  visiting 
brother  (whose  name,  by  some  strange  oversight  of  the  editors, 
nowhere  appears  in  the  Minutes  of  that  session),  the  good  work 
then  begun  was  often  interrupted  by  the  wars  of  the  Eepublic 
and  the  Empire,  and  "it  was  not  till  the  arrival  of  the  Eng- 
lish missionary,  the  Rev.  Charles  Cook,  in  France,  in  1818, 
that  the  mission  was  finally  and  fully  established/' 

One  of  the  two  most  distinguished  representatives  ever 
sent  to  the  General  Conference  from  any  foreign  land  was 
the  Rev.  William  Morley  Punshon,  who  appeared  as  the  fra- 
ternal delegate  of  the  British  Conference  at  the  session  of  1868 
in  Chicago.  No  more  cordial  and  joyful  reception  could  have 
been  desired  by  a  visiting  brother  than  that  accorded  to  this 
great-hearted,  eloquent,  genial  British  Methodist.  Dr.  Pun- 
shon was  broad  enough  and  free  enough  to  have  made  a  good 
and  great  American,  if  Providence  had  so  ordained.  The 
keynote  of  his  splendid  address  to  the  Conference  was  in 
these  words: 

"We  feel  no  jealousy  that  you  have  outstripped  ourselves.  The 
Lord  God  of  our  fathers  make  you  a  thousand-fold  more  than  you 
are,  and  bless  you  as  he  hath  promised!" 

In  his  reference  to  the  recent  jubilee  of  the  British  Wes- 
leyan  Missionary  Society,  Dr.  Punshon  brought  out  the  follow- 
ing interesting  historic  incident,  which  is  worthy  of  record  in 
our  own  missionary  annals: 

"I  regard  it  as  no  inconsiderable  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  re- 
mind you  to-day  that,  when  Richard  "Roardman  and  Joseph  Pill- 
moor  in  17C>9  were  sent  out  to  America,  the  first  missionary  collec- 
tion was  made  in  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference.  The  ministers 
there  assembled  were  the  only  persons  who  contributed,  and  the 
sum  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  dollars  was  put  into  their  hands." 


Frateimal  Relations. 


325 


Dr.  Punshon  preached  before  the  Conference  on  the  15th 
of  May,  and  that  body  paid  him  the  rare  compliment  of  pub- 
lishing in  their  Minutes  a  full  report  of  his  masterly  sermon. 

Another  notable  presence  at  the  General  Conference  of  18G8 
was  that  of  the  Hon.  Egerton  Ryerson,  delegate  from  the  Wes- 
leyan  Church  of  Canada.  A  Church  which  could  produce  two 
such  men  as  Punshon  and  Eyerson  in  one  generation  must  have 
better  than  royal  blood  in  it. 

Two  new  candidates  for  fraternal  fellowship  appeared  at 
this  session;  viz.,  the  Wesleyan  Conference  of  Eastern  British 
America  and  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church. 

But  perhaps  the  most  startling  document  of  a  fraternal 
character  which  then,  or  ever,  was  presented  to  the  body,  was 
a  letter  from  some  clergymen  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  suggesting  the  appointment  by  the  Conference  of  a 
commission  to  meet  a  similar  commission  to  be  appointed  by 
the  Episcopal  General  Convention,  with  a  view  to  consider 
and  forward  some  plan  for  the  union  of  those  two  communions. 
The  document  was  signed  by  ten  ministers  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Diocese  of  New  Jersey,  but  had  no  other  authority. 
It  was  out  of  the  real  fraternity  of  their  hearts  and  on  ac- 
count of  the  bond  of  union  existing  between  the  two  bodies 
in  the  person  and  work  of  John  Wesley,  that  these  brethren 
made  this  informal  overture.  The  Conference  appointed  a 
committee  to  correspond  with  the  authors  of  the  letter,  but 
it  has  not  transpired  that  any  further  steps  in  the  direction 
suggested  have  ever  been  taken  by  either  of  the  two  bodies 
concerned.  A  few  thousand  more  such  large-minded  clergy- 
men in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  as  the  signers  of 
that  notable  letter  might  make  their  visionary  suggestion  a 
visible  and  glorious  fact. 

The  first  of  the  chief  and  long-established  Churches  in 
America  which  reached  out  a  fraternal  hand  (for  which,  of 
course,  the  courtesies  of  the  situation  required  the  newest 
of  all  the  great  communions  to  wait)  was  the  General  As- 
sembly of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  distinguished  body, 
at  its  session  in  Chicago  in  1871,  had  delegated  the  Rev. 
Howard  Crosby,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  Joseph  T.  Duryea,  D.  D., 
to  represent  it  before  the  Methodist  General  Conference  of 


326 


The  General  Conference. 


1872.  In  his  address,  Dr.  Crosby  referred  to  the  recent  union 
of  the  two  sections  of  the  Northern  Presbyterians,  each  still 
having  its  own  theological  seminary,  in  which  to  shape  the  opin- 
ions of  its  young  ministers  according  to  "Old  School"  or  "New 
School"  dogmas.    He  then  proceeded  to  say: 

"Brethren,  what  caused  that  union?  Has  the  Old  School  laid 
aside  any  of  its  special  views  of  truth?  Has  the  New  School  buried 
its  particular  ideas  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea?  Has  Princeton  given 
up  its  own  views  of  theology,  or  has  Union  [The  Union  Theological 
Seminary,  New  York]  surrendered  anything  peculiar  to  it?  Not 
at  all.  .  .  .  Princeton  remains  Princeton  still,  and  Union  is  Union 
still.  Why,  then,  this  united  body?  I  answer:  Because  we  have 
come  to  recognize  the  truth  that  as  long  as  human  bodies  differ,  so 
long  will  various  minds  differ  in  the  apprehension  of  truth;  and  at 
the  Cross  of  Christ  we  can  all  agree." 

Thus  spake  "Union."  Four  years  later  the  Presbyterian 
General  Assembly  was  represented  by  "Princeton"  in  the  per- 
son of  that  notable  heresy-hunter,  the  Rev.  Francis  L.  Patton, 
D.  D.,  who  was  at  that  time  president  of  a  Presbyterian  School 
of  the  Prophets  in  Chicago,  and  later  coming  to  be  the  em- 
bodiment of  "Princeton"  itself.  In  his  brief  address  at  Balti- 
more, every  word  of  which  showed  the  scholar  and  the  theo- 
logian, he  affirmed  that  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  theology 
were  "capable  of  being  reduced  to  two  opposite  propositions;" 
and  prophesied  that  so  they  would  remain.  Yet  he  rejoiced 
that  the  two  bodies  had  so  much  in  common  that  true  Chris- 
tian fraternity  could  well  be  expected  to  continue  between 
them.  "Arminianism,"  said  he,  "is  the  Arminianism  of  Wes- 
ley, and  Calvinism  is  the  Calvinism  of  the  Westminster  Con- 
fession. .  .  .  The  realm  of  (theological)  thought  falls  into 
two  hemispheres,  and  Calvinists  and  Arminians  divide  between 
them  the  whole  bulk  of  Christian  thinking  men." 

That  was  twenty  years  ago.  Now  the  Calvinism  of  Calvin 
is  never  heard,  nor  yet  that  of  the  Westminster  Confession, 
in  its  full  strength,  outside  of  a  few  professional  "Princetons;" 
but  the  Arminianism  of  Wesley  has  captured  both  hemispheres 
of  Christian  thought,  and  is  preached  in  every  principal  or- 
thodox pulpit  on  the  globe. 

And  why  is  this? 


Fraternal  Relations. 


Largely  because,  as  Joseph  Cook  once  said,  "The  Method- 
ists have  a  theology  that  can  be  preached."  Thus  does  Gen- 
eral Conference  fraternity  plant  milestones  along  the  road 
over  which  the  Churches  climb  the  centuries.  Of  all  the 
various  classes  of  opinion  the  fittest  only  survive.  Hence- 
forth no  serious  error  can  ever  live  to  grow  old. 

At  the  session  of  1872,  to  which  this  record  now  returns, 
three  more  members  of  the  Methodist  family  were  fraternally 
represented;  viz.,  the  "Methodist"  Church,  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church,  and  the  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  There  was  also  a  Baptist  delegation,  representing  the 
Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society.  And  last,  but  not  of  small- 
est interest,  the  native  Chinese  Mission  Churches  in  Foochow 
sent  a  filial  letter  to  the  Conference,  saying  that  the  document 
stood  for  68  preachers,  1,009  members,  653  probationers,  and 
260  baptized  children,  belonging  to  the  Chinese  Methodist 
Missions  on  the  other  side  of  the  world. 

Following  the  appearance  of  that  belated  Calvinist,  the 
Rev.  Professor  Patton,  D.  D.,  in  the  fraternal  receptions  of 
1876,  came  a  good  man  in  a  bad  position — the  Rev.  Dr.  Cum- 
mins, bishop  of  the  Reformed  Episcopal  Church.  A  refor- 
mation in  the  body  from  which  this  new  sect  was  a  recent 
offshoot  might  have  been  desirable;  but  the  avowed  purpose 
of  winning  over  to  its  ranks  great  numbers  of  Methodists  who 
were  supposed  to  be  in  love  with  the  Church  of  England  lit- 
urgy did  not  argue  hopefully  for  much  real  reformation  at 
its  hands.  On  that  occasion  Bishop  Cummins  claimed  John 
Wesley  as  "the  first  great  Reformed  Episcopalian — our  great 
prototype."  .  .  .  "His  principles,"  said  the  bishop,  "are 
our  principles,  his  policy  is  our  policy,  his  spirit  is  our  spirit; 
and  we  ask  no  higher  honor  than  that  this  new  Church 
should  tread  in  the  steps  of  "Wesley."  (Journal  of  General 
Conference  of  1876,  Appendix,  p.  525.)  After  a  very  full 
showing  of  the  almost  exact  parallelism  of  the  "little  sister" 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church — so  exact,  indeed,  as 
to  raise  the  question  why  that  little  company  of  reformers  had 
not  become  Methodists  outright — the  persuasive  bishop  gave 
the  Church  of  Wesley  his  most  affectionate  benediction.  But 


328 


The  General  Conference. 


it  was  never  heard  that  the  hope  of  large  accessions  to  the 
new  enterprise  from  the  old-time  Methodist  communion  was 
realized. 

Another  addition  to  the  rapidly-growing  list  of  fraterni- 
ties during  the  session  of  1876  was  a  letter  from  the  National 
Council  of  the  Congregational  Churches  (not  "Church/5  as 
in  the  published  Journal)  in  the  United  States.  With  the 
charming  grace  of  diction,  of  which  he  was  an  acknowledged 
master,  their  great  controversialist  and  most  doughty  de- 
fender, Dr.  Leonard  Bacon,  of  New  Haven,  addressed  the 
body,  on  paper,  writing,  among  other  pleasant  things:  "There 
have  been  worse  interpretations  of  Scripture  than  to  say  that 
'the  elect  lady'  is  the  General  Conference,  'and  her  children 
are  the  Churches  which  the  Conference  governs.' " 

"That  small  but  very  respectable  bod}r,"  as  the  late  dis- 
tinguished President  Seeley  once  styled  it,  was  also  personally 
represented  by  the  cultured  and  brotherly  Dr.  Eankin,  pastor 
of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Washington,  D.  C.  In  his  ad- 
mirable address  he  brought  out  two  facts  which  belong  to  the 
roots  of  Methodist  history,  as  follows:  "Bishop  Haven  tells  me 
that  his  father  was  superintendent  of  a  Congregational  Sun- 
day-school; and  your  venerable  Bishop  Ames  has  informed 
me  that  his  grandfather  was  a  Congregational  clergyman  in 
New  England.  So  I  say,  if  we  are  small  in  numbers,  it  is  partly 
because  we  have  contributed  so  much  of  the  best  of  our  sub- 
stance for  your  good."  Of  the  continual  increase  in  the  mem- 
bership of  Congregational  Churches  from  persons  converted 
in  Methodist  revivals  the  graceful  orator  did  not  speak.  But 
one  more  utterance  of  his  is  too  significant  of  a  great  trend 
of  thought  in  Christendom  to  be  omitted  here.  It  was  this: 
"I  thank  the  Methodist  Church  for  preaching  Arminianism, 
though  I  am  a  Calvinist — that  is,  with  regard  to  the  past. 
With  regard  to  the  future,  I  am  an  Arminian." 

How  good  are  those  fraternal  gatherings,  in  which  great 
Christians,  like  Bacon  and  Eankin,  may  venture,  without  chal- 
lenge by  their  sect,  to  speak  from  their  heart  of  hearts! 

At  the  above-named  session  another  branch  of  the  family 
came  to  pay  its  respects,  viz.,  the  Colored  Methodist  Episcopal 


Fraternal  Relations. 


B29 


Church — a  body  in  the  Middle  South,  having  four  bishops  and 
a  General  Conference. 

It  was  at  this  time  also  that  the  memorable  action  was 
taken  with  regard  to  holding  an  Ecumenical  Methodist  Con- 
ference. The  prime  mover  in  this  important  project  was  the 
late  Rev.  Augustus  C.  George,  D.  D.,  of  the  Central  New 
York  Conference.  The  body  approved  the  suggestion,  and 
a  Committee  of  Correspondence,  with  the  view  of  forwarding 
the  proposal,  was  raised  and  ordered  to  report  in  1880. 
(Journal  of  General  Conference  of  1876,  pp.  367,  368.) 

Agreeably  to  the  above  direction  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence reported  to  the  General  Conference  of  1880  in  the  city 
of  Cincinnati,  for  substance,  that  the  purpose  and  plan  of  hold- 
ing an  Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference  had  been  presented  by 
Rev.  E.  0.  Haven,  D.  D.,  to  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference  at 
its  session  in  Bradford,  England,  July  31,  1878.  The  mother 
Conference  gave  most  hearty  response  to  the  suggestion  of  her 
eldest  daughter;  and  from  all  around  the  world  the  younger 
members  of  the  great  household  responded  with  delight. 
The  Conference,  therefore,  since  the  design  had  been  uni- 
versally approved,  called  a  meeting  of  a  joint  committee  from 
the  several  American  Methodisms,  which  was  held  in  the  city 
of  Cincinnati,  May  10,  1880.  This  committee  formally  recom- 
mended the  holding  of  the  proposed  Ecumenical  Conference 
in  the  City  Road  Chapel,  London,  in  the  middle  of  August, 
1881;  and  in  accordance  thereto  the  General  Assembly  of  rep- 
resentatives of  a  world-wide  Methodism  was  duly  held  at  the 
place  above  mentioned,  September  7-20,  1881. 

The  great  event  at  the  General  Conference  of  1880  was  the 
appearance  of  the  Rev.  William  Arthur,  M.  A.,  as  delegate 
from  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference.  With  a  single  excep- 
tion, his  was  at  that  time  the  greatest  name  in  British  Meth- 
odism. He  was  fresh  from  his  vivid  experiences  in  Italy  during 
its  revolution  from  tyranny  to  liberty;  and  his  reception,  for 
personal  as  well  as  official  reasons,  was  something  to  warm  his 
heart  to  his  dying  day. 

At  that  time  also  spoke  the  Rev.  Dr.  Atticus  G.  Haygood, 
later  a  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  the 


330 


The  General  Conference. 


man  who  had  the  courage  and  the  Christly  love  to  write,  "Our 
Brother  in  Black/' — two  good  men,  cast  in  great  molds,  who 
have  left  the  Church  richer  by  their  name  and  fame. 

In  the  large  fraternity  section  of  the  Journal  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1884,  held  in  Philadelphia,  appears  the 
report  of  its  distinguished  representatives  at  the  Ecumenical 
Conference,  which  met  in  the  City  Road  Chapel,  London — 
John  Wesley's  old  church — on  the  7th  of  September,  1881. 
The  Journal  of  this  historic  assembly  makes  a  large  volume. 
Xor  does  it  claim  attention  here.  But  readers  of  these  pages 
will  be  pleased  to  know  that  in  at  least  three  of  the  chief 
departments  of  effort  the  Methodists  of  America  bore  off  the 
palm.  Bishop  Simpson  was  the  matchless  preacher;  Bishop 
Peck  showed  himself  the  prince  of  chairmen;  and  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Price,  one  of  the  colored  preachers  from  the  South,  was 
the  prime  favorite  as  an  extemporaneous  orator. 

The  second  Ecumenical  Methodist  Conference  was  held 
at  the  Metropolitan  Church,  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  7th 
of  October,  1891.  Two  only  of  the  great  utterances  of  that 
memorable  occasion  can  even  be  mentioned  here.  The  first 
was  the  opening  sermon  of  the  Rev.  William  Arthur,  read  by 
his  friend,  the  Rev.  T.  B.  Stephenson,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.  The 
second,  in  which  the  period  of  flood-tide  was  reached,  was  the 
oration  of  Bishop  Fowler  on  the  present  status  of  Methodism 
in  the  Western  Section.  The  scene  at  the  close  of  this  sub- 
lime address  was  beyond  all  description.  The  whole  audience 
sprang  to  their  feet,  and  shouted  and  cheered  and  laughed  and 
wept  together.  Then  the  tumult  died  away;  but  a  second 
time  it  rose,  cheer  on  cheer,  till  it  seemed  like  the  shouting 
of  a  great  army  at  the  moment  of  victory.  Then  a  second 
time  there  was  silence.  But  a  third  time  the  applause  broke 
forth,  as  if  the  vast  assembly  could  not  contain  itself  under 
the  surging  tides  of  emotion  aroused  by  the  mighty  thoughts 
and  the  matchless  sentences  of  Methodism's  great  orator,  always 
hitherto  unequaled  save  by  one,  who  was  then  above. 

At  the  session  of  1892,  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  no  new  candidates 
for  fraternal  honors  appeared. 

A  suggestive  fact  in  current  Methodist  history  was  the 


Fraternal  Relations. 


33] 


appearance,  at  the  General  Conference  of  1890,  held  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  of  a  delegate  from  New  Zealand,  the  Rev.  J.  J. 
Lewis,  who  was  on  his  way  to  perform  a  similar  office  at  the 
approaching  session  of  the  British  Wesleyan  Conference. 

By  this  time  fraternity  is  a  fact  so  vast  as  to  be  almost  op- 
pressive. Hence  the  method,  now  fast  coming  into  use,  of 
messages  by  telegraph  conveying  the  brotherly  salutations  of 
one  great  body  of  true  believers  to  another.  We  say  true  be- 
lievers; for  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  of  all  the  many  bodies  rep- 
resented at  this  great  quadrennial  Council,  no  loose  or  "liberal" 
or  doubtful  sect  has  ever  reached  out  a  fraternal  hand.  Meth- 
odism has  no  fellowship  with  men  who  think  themselves  good 
enough  without  regeneration,  wise  enough  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  Divine  revelation,  and  great  enough  not  to  bow  down 
before  the  Son  of  God. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


LAY  DELEGATION:  MEN — WOMEN. 

LpOR  more  than  fifty  years  the  exclusively  clerical  adminis- 
tration  of  all  spiritual  affairs  in  the  Church  was  accepted 
without  serious  question.  It  was  assumed  as  a  matter  of 
course  that,  so  far  as  official  government  was  concerned,  the 
Church  was  the  ministry,  and  the  ministry  was  the  Church. 
But  with  the  appearance  of  a  generation  of  native-born  Amer- 
ican Methodists  this  instinctive  sentiment,  which  the  original 
members  of  the  societies  brought  over  the  sea  with  them,  began 
to  change;  and  there  was  a  call  for  more  of  the  membership 
and  less  of  the  ministry  in  the  direction  of  Church  affairs. 

It  was  a  blessing  to  the  great  body  of  the  Church  that  those 
who  wished  to  conform  its  polity  to  that  of  the  new  nation 
gathered  together  and  set  up  a  communion  for  themselves — 
the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  in  1828,  and  the  Wesleyan 
Methodist  Connection  in  1813,  both  of  them  with  only  a  single 
order,  that  of  elder,  in  their  ministry.  The  name  of  this  last- 
mentioned  secession  was  not  historically  appropriate.  As  every 
one  knows,  "Wesley  was  an  opposer  of  the  slave-trade;  but,  as 
the  members  of  this  divisive  company  seem  to  have  forgotten, 
he  was  as  far  as  possible  from  being  an  advocate  of  republican- 
ism of  any  kind.  With  the  disappearance  of  slavery,  all  that 
was  "Wesleyan"  in  their  system,  as  distinguished  from  that 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  disappeared.  As  in  the 
name  of  Wesleyan  abolitionism  they  went  out,  so  in  the  name 
of  Wesleyan  episcopacy  they  might  return. 

The  first  mention  of  "Lay  Delegation"  in  the  annals  of 
the  General  Conference  is  found  in  the  Journal  of  the  session 
of  1824.  The  body  refused  the  measure,  and,  as  the  subject 
was  at  that  time  agitating  the  Church,  an  argument  against  it 
was  ordered  to  be  prepared  for  official  publication.  At  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Great  Council  the  subject  reappeared,  and  met 
with  a  similar  response.  The  reply  to  the  memorialists  in  its 
favor  was,  in  this  instance,  made  by  Dr.  John  Emory,  after- 

332 


Lay  Delegation. 


WWW 


wards  one  of  the  bishops,  author  of  the  standard  work,  entitled, 
"Defense  of  Our  Fathers." 

In  the  midst  of  the  anti-slavery  excitement  at  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1840  time  was  found  for  another  discussion 
of  the  Lay  Delegation  question,  as  was  also  the  case  in  1852, 
on  both  of  which  occasions  the  clerical  lawmakers  refused  to 
share  their  prerogatives  with  the  laity,  as  being  the  demand 
of  only  a  few  malcontents. 

In  the  month  of  March,  prior  to  the  session  of  1852,  a 
very  respectable  convention  of  Methodists  had  been  held  in 
Philadelphia,  at  which  a  memorial  to  the  approaching  Con- 
ference was  prepared,  praying  for  the  establishment  of  lay. 
delegation,  both  in  the  annual  and  General  Conferences  of 
the  Church.  On  the  5th  of  May  following  another  conven- 
tion of  Methodist  laymen  was  held  in  the  same  city,  deprecat- 
ing the  measures  asked  for  by  the  previous  assembly. 
Memorials  both  for  and  against  the  proposed  change,  but  mostly 
against  it,  were  poured  in  upon  the  Conference.  In  due  time 
the  committee  to  whom  the  papers  had  been  referred,  reported 
that  the  great  majority  of  the  Church  were  either  indifferent 
or  opposed  to  lay  delegation;  and  the  substance  of  their  report 
was  incorporated  into  the  Pastoral  Address. 

During  the  next  few  years  the  leaders  of  the  movement 
gathered  to  themselves  several  prominent  ministers;  but  from 
first  to  last  it  was  noticeable  that  their  following  embraced, 
proportionally,  a  larger  number  of  clergymen  than  of  laymen. 
The  rank  and  file  of  the  Church,  in  whose  interest  the  reform 
was  pushed,  did  not  have  any  interest  in  it. 

At  its  opening  session,  the  General  Conference  of  1860, 
held  in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  on  motion  of  J.  M.  Eeid,  added 
to  the  usual  list  of  standing  committees  a  Committee  on  *Lay 
Delegation.  By  this  it  was  evident  that  the  measure  had  been 
gaining  strength.  On  the  30th  of  May,  William  H.  Goode, 
chairman  of  this  committee,  moved  that  the  order  of  the  day 
be  suspended,  to  receive  the  report  on  lay  delegation.  Daniel 
Curry  moved  to  strike  out  the  words  "to  receive  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Lay  Delegation,"  and  insert  the  words, 
"to  take  up  the  report  on  slavery."  This  proposed  amend- 
ment was  laid  on  the  table  by  what  may  be  regarded  as  a  test 
vote  of  93  to  61. 


334 


The  General  Conference. 


The  chief  significance  of  this  incident  was  the  appearance 
of  the  sturdiest  opponent  of  the  proposed  reform,  whose  name 
frequently  occurs  in  the  whole  history  of  the  movement.  At 
the  Conference  of  1864  Daniel  Curry  was  elected  the  successor 
of  Edward  Thomson  as  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  at 
New  York.  From  that  strong  position  he  fought  the  coming 
revolution  step  by  step.  He  was  successful  at  first,  having  a 
considerable  following  of  both  orders  in  the  Church.  But, 
as  in  the  case  of  King  Canute,  the  rising  tide  came  to  be  too 
strong  for  him. 

Shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference  of  1860 
a  newspaper,  Called  The  Methodist,  was  established  in  the  city 
of  New  York,  for  the  promotion  of  the  coming  reform.  Its 
editor  was  the  scholarly  George  R.  Crooks,  D.  D.,  with  Abel 
Stevens  as  corresponding  editor.  Among  its  special  corre- 
spondents were  Dr.  John  McClintock,  then  in  Paris,  and  Dr. 
John  P.  Newman,  later  one  of  the  bishops,  who  was  making  a 
tour  in  Bible  lands.  The  setting  up  of  an  opposition  organ 
under  the  shadow  of  "the  great  official"  could  not  fail  to  make 
a  sharp  division  in  both  the  ministry  and  laity  of  the  central 
section  of  the  Church,  though  the  paper  never  attained  a  very 
large  or  wide  circulation. 

After  a  quadrennium  of  debate,  some  of  which  might*  be 
called  dispute,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1864,  which  assembled  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  would 
be  a  breezy  one.  The  result  of  the  vote  on  lay  delegation,  both 
in  the  annual  conferences  and  in  the  Churches,  had  been  a 
great  disappointment  to  the  reformers.  It  was  officially  reported 
by  the  bishops  as  follows: 

Ministerial  vote,  in  favor  of  lay  delegation,  1,338;  op- 
posed, 3,069.  » 

Vote  of  male  members  of  the  Church  over  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  in  favor  of  lay  delegation,  28,881;  against,  47,855. 

Early  in  May  of  that  year  an  important  convention  of  lay- 
men had  been  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  which  did  not 
adjourn  until  after  the  opening  of  the  Conference.  From  this 
convention  a  delegation  of  laymen,  bearing  an  address  to  the 
Conference,  appeared  in  that  body  on  the  19th  of  May.  The 
names  of  this  distinguished  delegation  were  as  follows:  Ex- 


Lay  Delegation. 


335 


Governor  Wright,  of  Indiana;  Governor  Cannon,  of  Delaware; 
Dr.  James  Strong,  C.  C.  North,  Esq.,  John  Elliott,  Esq.,  of 
New  York;  Cornelius  Walsh,  Esq.,  of  New  Jersey;  Hon. 
Thomas  Kneil,  of  Massachusetts;  George  C.  Cook,  Esq.,  of 
Chicago;  and  Oliver  Hoyt,  Esq.,  of  Stamford,  Conn.  The  ad- 
dress of  the  convention,  presented  by  this  delegation,  after  a 
courteous  salutation  to  the  Conference,  proceeds  to  charge 
to  the  account  of  the  General  Conference  of  1860,  and  to  the 
clergy  in  their  own  pulpits,  the  unsatisfactory  size  of  the  above 
lay  vote,  as  compared  with  the  very  large  membership  of  the 
Church.   A  few  extracts  will  show  its  substance  and  tone. 

"1.  A  popular  vote  upon  any  question  of  connectional  interest 
is  without  precedent  in  American  Methodism.  The  facilities  for 
adequately  employing  this  method  of  ascertaining  the  popular  judg- 
ment do  not  as  yet  exist.  Whether  the  vote  should  be  properly 
taken  depended  solely  upon  the  fidelity  and  care  of  the  pastors. 
In  our  opinion,  the  preachers  should  have  been  required  to  notify 
the  people  by  reading  the  resolutions  of  the  General  Conference, 
and  the  passage  in  the  Pastoral  Address  which  touches  upon  lay 
delegation  from  their  pulpits,  and  not  by  verbal  statement;  and 
the  General  Conference  papers  should  have  been  directed  to  publish 
the  same  resolutions  conspicuously  a  certain  number  of  times  dur- 
ing the  period  appointed  for  the  taking  of  the  vote. 

"2.  In  point  of  fact,  the  vote  was  very  imperfectly,  and,  in 
some  cases,  irregularly  taken.  In  some  instances  preachers  neg- 
'lected,  or  wholly  refused,  to  present  the  subject  to  their  congre- 
gations. In  other  cases  that  have  come  to  our  knowledge  the  peo- 
ple were  requested  to  give  their  judgment  upon  the  admission  of 
laymen  to  the  annual  conferences  as  well  as  to  the  General  Con- 
ference, thus  having  before  them  a  question  totally  different  from 
that  which  was,  by  your  order,  presented  to  their  consideration. 
We  have  evidence  of  circuits  where,  by  the  ruling  of  the  presiding 
elder,  but  one  time  and  place  were  permitted  for  the  voting  of  all 
the  Churches  therein.  WTe  take  these  to  be  but  samples,  and  we 
have  a  painful  impression  that  in  hundreds  of  the  Churches  the 
people  were  very  imperfectly  advised  of  the  duty  laid  upon  them 
by  the  General  Conference.  No  other  result  could,  therefore,  be 
expected  than  a  comparatively  small  vote,  which  can  not  be  said 
fully  to  reflect  the  opinion  of  our  laity." 

Near  the  close  of  the  address  the  following  passage  occurs: 

"We  are  gratified  to  find,  fathers  and  brethren,  that  in  urging 
our  claim  we  are  occupying  the  ground  of  the  greatest  teachers  of 
Methodism.   The  prince  of  Methodist  theologians,  Richard  Watson, 


386  The  General  Conference. 

whose  'Institutes'  you  have  made  a  ministerial  text-book,  distinctly 
asserts  that  'Those  regulations  which  are  subsidiary  to  the  great 
end  of  the  Church's  commission  are  intended,  in  Christ's  plan,  to  rest 
upon  the  mutual  concurrence  of  the  ministry  and  the  people." 

The  address,  which  shows  throughout  a  high  courtesy  and 
a  clear  judgment  as  to  connectional  affairs,  was  signed  by 
Thomas  Kneil,  President,  and  James  Strong,  Secretary.  Its 
date  is  May  18,  1864. 

On  the  27th  of  May  the  Committee  on  Lay  Delegation 
made  their  very  brief  report.  The  following  were  the  resolu- 
tions contained  in  it: 

"Resolved,  That  while  we  reaffirm  our  approval  of  lay  repre- 
sentation in  the  General  Conference,  whenever  it  shall  be  ascertained 
that  the  Church  desires  it,  we  see  no  such  declaration  of  the  popular 
will  as  to  justify  us  in  taking  advanced  action  in  relation  to  it. 

"Resolved,  That;  we  are  at  all  times  ready  to  receive  petitions 
and  memorials  from  our  people  on  this  subject,  and  to  consider 
them  most  respectfully." 

The  General  Conference  of  1868  met  in  the  city  of  Chi- 
cago. Lay  delegation  was  again  the  principal  topic.  The 
standing  committee  thereon  had  now  reached  the  number  of 
fifty-five,  that  being  the  then  present  number  of  annual  con- 
ferences. Among  the  names  in  this  list  familiar  to  readers  of 
Methodist  history  are  those  of  John  Lanahan,  E.  0.  Haven, 
C.  Munger,  S.  M.  Merrill,  B.  I.  Ives,  Daniel  Wise,  T.  M.  Eddy, 
A.  J.  Kynett,  and  Reuben  Xelson.  Of  this  influential  commit- 
tee, E.  0.  Haven,  afterwards  bishop,  was  chairman. 

On  May  14th  a  Laymen's  Convention  was  held  in  Chicago, 
at  which  a  memorial  to  the  General  Conference  was  prepared, 
bearing  the  names  of  a  committee  of  thirty-eight  leading  Meth- 
odist professional  and  business  men  from  all  over  the  Church. 
Of  this  committee  General  Clinton  B.  Fisk  was  chairman,  and 
among  the  signers  of  the  memorial  appear  the  names  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Evans,  of  Colorado  ;  Isaac  Rich,  William  Claflin,  and 
Franklin  Rand,  of  Boston;  Oliver  Hoyt,  of  Stamford,  Conn.; 
A.  P.  Stout  and  Lemuel  Bangs,  of  Xew  York;  Harvey  De  Camp, 
of  Cincinnati;  Amos  Shinkle,  of  Covington;  F.  H.  Root,  of 
Buffalo;  Joseph  Hillman,  of  Troy;  and  John  T.  McLean,  of 
San  Francisco. 


Lay  Delegation. 


337 


The  central  point  of  their  argument  may  be  found  in  the 
following  brief  quotation: 

"You,  fathers  and  brethren,  as  a  General  Conference,  are  wield- 
ing powers  of  the  greatest  magnitude— powers  which  virtually 
affect  our  welfare.  Our  church  property  has  now  reached  a  rain 
ation  of  thirty-five  millions  of  dollars,  and  our  property  in  parson- 
ages is  estimated  at  live  millions  of  dollars.  By  an  enact inent  now 
standing  in  the  Discipline,  no  church  or  parsonage  can  he  sold 
without  the  permission  of  the  ministers  in  annual  conference  as- 
sembled. This  General  Conference  is  the  perpetual  patron  of  all 
the  pulpits  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  You  dispose  abso- 
lutely of  all  donations,  bequests,  and  grants  made  for  benevolent 
purposes  to  the  Church,  your  trustees  merely  holding  such  property 
subject  to  your  order.  This  General  Conference  is  therefore  sole 
legatee  and  grantee  in  all  such  cases.  You  can  also  exercise  dis- 
cretion as  to  the  length  of  the  pastoral  term.  .  .  .  You  require 
of  us  a  pledge  to  support  the  ministry,  by  which  is,  of  course,  meant 
the  pastors  duly  appointed.  In  all  this  the  laity  is  merely  passive. 
Does  it  not  appear  to  you  that  a  General  Conference  making  such 
requirements  of,  and  laying  such  commands  upon  the  laity,  should 
be  composed  in  part  of  lay  delegates?  The  exercise  of  such  large 
power  is,  no  doubt,  necessary;  but  it  would  come  more  appropri- 
ately from  a  General  Conference  in  wThich  the  ministry  and  laity 
are  jointly  represented.  .  .  .  The  continuance  of  the  exercise  of 
such  great  powers  by  the  ministry  alone  must,  in  time,  give  to  a 
General  Conference  of  ministers  the  appearance  of  lordly  authority. 
A  General  Conference  in  which  ministry  and  laity  are  both  repre- 
sented can,  with  the  best  reason,  lay  its  commands  upon  both." 
(Daily  Christian  Advocate,  1868,  page  61.) 

With  such  arguments  and  such  men  to  project  and  maintain 
them,  lay  delegation  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  There  was  in  . 
the  Wesleyan  Connection  of  Great  Britain,  when  a  similar  con- 
tention was  before  the  "Legal  Hundred/'  a  bold  declaration, 
on  the  part  of  some  determined  lay  reformers,  that  if  the  rights 
of  those  who  almost  wholly  maintained  the  ministry  were  any 
longer  ignored,  a  proclamation  of  "no  supplies"  would  be  made. 
It  does  not  appear  that  the  argument  reached  this  violent  stage 
in  American  Methodism. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Christian  Advocate  at  New  York, 
the  press  of  the  Church  indorsed  the  claims  of  the  laymen,  so 
that  there  was  no  occasion  for  such  mutinous  threats  as  that 
of  the  British  Wesleyans  above  recited.  "It  must  come,"  was 
the  prediction  of  the  best  minds  in  the  Church;  and  at  this 
22 


338 


The  General  Conference. 


distance  of  time  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  reasonable 
claims  of  the  laity  could  ever  have  been  seriously  disputed. 

As  at  Philadelphia,  so  also  at  Chicago  there  were  two  parties 
of  laymen  in  active  opposition;  the  one  inside  and  the  other 
outside  of  the  Conference.  A  small  gathering  of  local  brethren 
sent  in  a  counter  memorial  to  that  above  mentioned,  deprecating 
the  proposed  changes  in  what  it  called  "the  settled  and  heaven- 
appointed  polity  of  our  cherished  Methodism,"  affirming  that 
the  Church  was,  with  few  exceptions,  satisfied  with  its  present 
"Let  well  enough  alone."  (See  Daily  Christian  Advocate,  1868, 
page  77.) 

In  the  reports  of  the  Committee  on  Lay  Delegation  the 
names  of  two  future  bishops  appear.  The  majority  report, 
which  was  an  effort  at  compromise  and  accommodation,  was 
presented  by  the  chairman,  Erastus  0.  Haven;  the  minority 
report  was  a  straight-out  attack  upon  the  assumed  power  and 
right  of  the  General  Conference  to  change  the  Constitution 
of  the  Church  in  the  way  proposed.  It  was  presented  and  de- 
fended in  a  masterly  speech  by  S.  M.  Merrill,  whose  standing 
as  a  Methodist  constitutional  lawyer  was  gained  in  that  debate. 

The  leader  of  a  minority  of  ten  against  a  majority  of  forty- 
five  in  the  committee  laid  down  the  proposition  that  a  consti- 
tutional body  did  not  possess  the  power  to  change  its  own  form 
of  existence,  except  as  was  provided  in  the  Constitution  thereof. 
Any  such  change  must  be  made  by  the  anterior  and  superior 
power  by  which  that  Constitution  was  originally  established. 
Such  power,  in  the  case  then  in  question,  was  the  membership 
of  the  annual  conferences.  It  was  this  bod}r,  en  masse,  which 
at  the  last  actual  General  Conference  in  the  year  1808  had  con- 
stituted the  delegated  General  Conference  as  it  has  since  ex- 
isted. To  this  anterior  tribunal,  then,  must  all  proposed  changes 
in  the  composition  of  the  delegated  General  Conference  be  re- 
ferred, and  from  this  source  all  power  and  authority  to  change 
the  Constitution  of  that  delegated  General  Conference  must 
come. 

The  majority  report  of  the  Committee  on  Lay  Delegation 
made  no  provision  for  submitting  the  proposed  change  to  the 
annual  conferences;  therefore,  it  was  challenged  by  the  minority 


Lay  Delegation. 


839 


report.  This  minority  report  went  still  farther,  and  cited  the 
small  vote  on  lay  delegation,  which  question  had  been  sent  down 
to  the  annual  conferences,  and  out  to  the  adult  male  membership 
at  the  Conference  of  1864,  as  a  reason  against  the  proposed 
reform.    It  concluded  in  the  following  words: 

"'Resolved,  That  the  feeble  array  of  petitioners  presented  to  this 
General  Conference  asking  for  lay  delegation,  viewed  in  connection 
with  our  more  than  a  million  of  members,  and  the  extraordinary 
and  long-continued  efforts  to  obtain  their  signatures,  furnishes  in- 
contestable evidence  that  our  people  are  generally  averse  to  the 
change  proposed,  and  therefore  we  deem  it  inexpedient  for  this 
General  Conference  to  adopt  any  definite  plan  for  its  introduction." 

Dr  .Merrill  did  not  claim  to  be  opposed  to  lay  delegation 
in  itself  ;  but  his  attitude  was  one  of  hostility,  not  only  to  the 
proposed  manner  of  changing  the  Constitution  of  the  General 
Conference,  but  also  to  the  proposed  change  itself.  His  great 
speech  was,  however,  of  no  small  service  to  the  cause  of  the 
coming  reform,  for  it  swung  the  majority  over  to  his  way  of 
thinking,  so  far  as  to  lead  to  the  submission  of  both  reports  to 
a  special  committee,  with  the  view  to  find  some  common  ground 
of  action.  This  final  committee  proposed  to  submit  the  consti- 
tutional question  to  the  annual  conferences  again,  and  the  pro- 
posed plan  to  the  adult  male  membership  of  the  Church.  The 
word  "male"  was  subsequently  stricken  out,  and  thus  the  whole 
subject  in  both  its  constituent  parts  was  submitted  to  the  an- 
terior and  ultimate  authority  in  a  way  to  which  no  objection 
could  possibly  be  taken.  This  form  of  the  question,  together 
with  a  plan  for  its  introduction,  was  accepted  by  the  Conference 
of  1868,  and  referred  for  final  approbation  to  the  Conference 
of  1872.  The  vote  on  this  measure  stood  as  follows:  227  in 
favor,  to  3  against  lay  delegation. 

When  at  the  General  Conference  of  1872  the  success  of  the 
measure  was  officially  announced,  it  again  appeared  that  the 
conferences,  both  annual  and  General,  were  far  in  advance  of 
the  masses  of  the  Church,  as,  indeed,  they  ought  to  be.  The 
result  was  given  as  follows:  Ministerial  vote — for  lay  delegation, 
4,915;  against  lay  delegation,  1,597.  Thus  by  the  ministry  the 
change  was  carried,  with  only  31  votes  to  spare. 


340 


The  General  Conference. 


Exact  figures  in  the  vote  of  the  laity  were  not  obtainable; 
but  in  round  numbers  it  appeared  that  out  of  a  total  of  150,000 
ballots,  100,000  were  for  lay  delegation. 

The  principle  of  lay  delegation  having  been  adopted  by  the 
requisite  three-fourths  vote  of  the  ministry,  and  the  proposed 
plan  having  been  approved  by  a  majority  of  the  laity  voting  on 
the  subject,  129  lay  delegates  appeared  at  the  opening  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1872  at  Brooklyn.  Their  election,  under 
the  authority  of  the  action  already  taken  in  the  case,  was  almost 
unanimously  ratified  by  the  clerical  body,  whereupon  they  were 
admitted  to  seats  in  the  Great  Council.  The  occasion  was  aus- 
picious. The  Church  had  sent  up  its  best  men.  Many  were 
prominent  in  legal  and  business  circles,  and  some  had  national 
reputations  for  enterprise  and  liberality.  Many  of  them  were 
masters  in  parliamentary  proceedings,  and  were  thus  able  to 
add  to  the  steadiness  as  well  as  to  the  propulsive  power  of  the 
assembly. 

Among  the  exciting  topics  which  came  before  the  body  was 
what  has  been  known  as  the  Book  Concern  trouble.  This  was 
wholly  a  business  affair;  a  small  affair  as  it  proved  to  be  on  due 
business-like  examination,  though  a  great  deal  of  confusion  in 
the  Church  papers,  and  no  little  sensationalism  in  the  secular 
press  had  been  made  out  of  it.  In  this  many  of  the  laymen  were 
of  eminent  service.  They  helped  to  sift  the  case  to  the  very 
bottom.  Their  committee  reported  that  no  crimes  had  been 
committed,  and  no  considerable  losses  had  been  suffered.  In 
order  to  utilize  their  lay  re-enforcement  to  the  fullest  extent,  a 
layman  was  elected  associate  Book  -Agent  at  New  York.  John 
M.  Phillips,  chief  manager  for  many  years  of  the  AVestern  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern  at  Cincinnati,  was  the  man  honored  with 
this  promotion.  The  choice  was  an  ideal  one,  and  under  his 
wise  and  genial  administration  the  great  Methodist  publishing- 
house  was  restored  to  its  former  place  in  the  confidence  of  the 
Church,  and  entered  upon  a  still  higher  career  of  success. 

In  the  details  of  the  plan  of  lay  delegation,  it  was  provided 
that  the  ministers  and  laymen  should  sit  and  vote  as  one  body; 
but  to  compensate  for  the  fact  of  their  constant  minority,  it 
was  provided  that  either  order  might  claim  the  right  to  vote 
separately  whenever  such  separate  vote  should  be  demanded  by 


Lay  Delegation. 


8  1 1 


one-third  of  either  order.  In  such  cases  the  concurrent  majority 
of  both  orders  should  be  necessary  to  complete  an  action.  (Jour- 
nal 1872,  page  46.) 

When  the  plan  of  lay  delegation  was  in  its  formative  stage, 
it  had  been  proposed  to  deny  the  right  of  a  separate  vote  by 
orders  in  the  case  of  elections;  but  no  such  restriction  existed 
in  its  final  form.  Accordingly,  no  General  Conference  officer 
could  be  elected,  to  whom  a  majority  of  either  order  might 
object.  Again,  the  right  to  call  for  a  vote  by  orders  gave  to  the 
laymen  a  veto  power  over  the  action  of  a  possible  majority  of 
the  whole  body. 

In  view  of  these  facts,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  reluctance 
of  the  lay  delegates  to  exercise  their  powerful  privilege,  propo- 
sitions of  equal  clerical  and  lay  delegations  were  sent  down  to 
the  annual  conferences  of  1892  and  1896.  But,  since  the  only 
possible  equalization  would  be  in  reducing  the  number  of  min- 
isterial delegates,  the  plan  met  with  little  favor.  In  view  of 
the  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  the  Great  Council,  already 
almost  unmanageable  at  times,  the  suggestion  of  that  eminent 
Methodist  statesman,  Bishop  Ames,  for  a  separate  house  of  lay 
delegates  recurs.  In  1892  at  Omaha,  and  in  1896  at  Cleveland, 
the  laymen  had  a  section  of  the  hall  marked  off  for  those  who 
wished  to  sit  in  a  body  by  themselves.  In  1896,  also,  on  open 
evenings  of  the  Conference,  a  series  of  informal  gatherings  of 
laymen  was  held,  which  had  a  simple  plan  for  its  own  organiza- 
tion, and  in  which  the  General  Conference  Rules  of  Order  were 
enforced.  Of  these  facts  it  may  be  said,  "Coming  events  cast 
their  shadows  before." 

LAY  DELEGATION:  WOMEN. 

An  adequate  history  of  the  progress  of  a  great  movement, 
whose  final  determination  has  not  yet  been  reached,  is  impos- 
sible. Nevertheless,  certain  steps  have  been  taken  for  fixing  the 
status  of  women  in  Methodist  Church  government,  which  are  of 
no  little  interest  and  importance,  some  of  which  throw  further 
light  upon  the  uses  which  may  be  made  of  that  vague  and  un- 
defined something,  called  "The  Constitution  of  the  General 
Conference." 


342 


The  General  Conference. 


It  does  not  appear  that  the  original  claim  of  women  to  a 
share  in  the  legislative  functions  of  the  Church  ever  had  any 
definite  history.  Its  genesis  was  too  vague  for  record.  Bishop 
Asbury  makes  mention  of  the  fact  that  in  certain  sections  he 
could  find  more  women  than  men  who  were  competent  to  fill  the 
office  of  class-leader;  but  he  says  nothing  about  admitting  his 
women  class-leaders  into  any  of  his  conferences,  either  quarterly 
or  annual. 

The  first  official  notice  taken  of  women  by  the  General  Con- 
ference was,  by  implication,  in  the  session  of  1868.  When  the 
motion  was  pending  to  refer  the  question  of  lay  delegation  to 
the  annual  conferences,  and  the  plan  therefor  to  the  adult  male 
membership  of  the  Church,  David  Sherman,  of  the  New  England 
delegation,  moved  to  strike  out  the  word  "male."  Such  a  motion 
by  such  a  grave  and  conservative  Doctor  of  Divinity  took  the 
House  by  surprise.  If  it  had  come  from  an  advanced  radical 
like  Gilbert  Haven,  it  would  have  seemed  natural  enough.  A 
ripple  of  merriment  ran  over  the  assembl}7,  which  increased  to 
general  laughter,  when  the  irrepressible  Peter  Cartwright  threw 
in  a  quotation  from  the  hymn-book.  In  the  hilarious  scene 
which  followed,  the  journal  of  the  day  shows  that  the  gravity 
of  at  least  one  of  the  bishops  was  quite  upset,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  effect  of  the  scene  upon  men  of  humbler  degree.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  motion  was  carried  with  the  utmost 
readiness,  and  thus  for  the  first  time  Methodist  women  voted 
along  with  men  on  a  great  constitutional  question. 

At  the  memorable  Conference  of  1872  the  following  defi- 
nition was  ordered  to  be  inserted  in  the  Discipline: 

"Who  are  laymen? 

"The  General  Conference  holds  that  in  all  matters  connected 
with  the  election  of  lay  delegates  the  word  'laymen'  must  be  un- 
derstood to  include  all  members  of  the  Church  who  are  not  mem- 
bers of  the  annual  conferences."    (Journal  1872,  page  442.) 

In  the  session  of  1880  the  following  definition  was  placed  in 
the  Discipline: 

"The  pronouns  'he,'  'his,'  and  'him.'  when  used  in  the  Discipline 
with  reference  to  stewards,  class-leaders,  and  Sunday-school  su- 
perintendents, shall  not  be  so  construed  as  to  exclude  women  from 
such  offices."    (Journal  1880,  page  339.) 


Lay  Delegation, 


343 


At  tke  same  session  the  question  arose  as  to  the  licensing  of 
women  as  local  preachers  and  as  to  the  ordination  of  women 
to  the  ministry.  There  were  women  in  the  Church  who  were 
evidently  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  who  were 
exercising  their  gifts  with  notable  success.  Chief  among  these 
was  that  eminent  evangelist,  Mrs.  Maggie  (Margaret)  Van  Cott, 
who  had  already  been  licensed  to  preach,  and  there  were  others 
who  were  seeking  the  same  Churchly  recognition.  On  this 
account  it  was  decided  that  women  might  not  be  licensed  as 
local  preachers  nor  ordained  to  the  office  of  the  ministry.  It 
was  made  an  offense  for  a  presiding  elder  to  permit  the  former 
in  a  quarterly  conference,  and  the  bishops  were  authorized  to 
refuse  to  put  a  motion  in  an  annual  conference  in  favor  of  the 
latter.  Thus  the  General  Conference  of  1880  proved  its  willing- 
ness to  share  with  the  women  in  the  humbler  labors  of  the 
Church,  but  refused  them  any  share  in  its  ministerial  powers 
and  honors.    (See  Journal  1880,  page  353.) 

This  action  was  not  well  received  by  many  of  the  most 
prominent  and  useful  female  members  of  the  Church,  one  of 
whom  offered  the  suggestion  that,  if  God  called  women  to 
preach,  and  men  refused  to  ordain  them,  they  could  call  a 
conference  of  godly  women,  who  should  ordain  the  candidates 
themselves.  In  this  way  it  was  held  that  the  Old  Testament 
order  of  prophetesses  would  be  repeated  in  the  New  Testament 
Church. 

The  next  official  appearance  of  this  vexed  question  was  at  the 
General  Conference  of  1888,  held  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
On  this  occasion  four  women  presented  themselves,  with  due 
credentials,  as  members;  viz.,  Frances  E.  Willard,  from  the  Kock 
River;  Angie  (Angeline)  F.  Newman,  from  the  Nebraska; 
Mary  C.  Nind,  from  the  Minnesota;  and  Amanda  C.  Rippey, 
from  the  Kansas  Conference.  Lizzie  (Elizabeth)  D.  Van  Kirk 
had  also  been  elected  from  the  Pittsburg  Conference;  but  did 
not  claim  her  seat.  Seventeen  other  women  were  elected  as  first 
or  second  reserves. 

Immediately  after  the  devotional  exercises  with  which 
the  Conference  opened,  an  event  occurred  which  has  become 
historic  as  an  illustration  of  the  use  which  can  be  made  of 


344 


The  General  Conference. 


that  much-abused  "Constitution  of  the  General  Conference" 
under  stress  of  great  emergency. 

The  Discipline  contained  special  directions  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  credentials  of  lay  delegates  should  be 
prepared,  and  the  women  as  well  as  the  men  elected  had  been 
duly  certified  to  the  secretary  of  the  preceding  session,  whose 
business,  by  established  precedent,  it  would  be  to  call  the 
roll  of  delegates-elect  for  the  due  and  proper  organization 
of  the  House.  Before  this  roll  was  called,  when  as  yet  there 
was  no  General  Conference  in  existence,  Bishop  Bowman,  the 
senior  bishop,  proceeded  to  read  an  episcopal  manifesto,  de- 
claring for  substance,  that,  by  constitutional  authority  vested 
in  the  bishops  in  the  intervals  of  General  Conferences,  the 
Board  of  Bishops  had  directed  that  the  names  of  certain  dele- 
gates be  omitted  from  the  roll.  One  reason  given  for  this 
action  was  that  letters  had  been  received  by  the  bishops, 
signed  both  by  ministers  and  laymen,  threatening  to  chal- 
lenge the  names  of  certain  persons  if  they  should  be  read 
from  the  roll.  Another  reason  assigned  was  that  there  was 
no  law  or  precedent  for  the  admission  of  women  as  members 
of  the  General  Conference.  Another  was  that,  in  the  nature 
of  the  case,  there  must  first  be  a  body  of  unchallenged  dele- 
gates, by  which  the  cases  of  those  who  were  challenged  should 
be  determined.    (See  Daily  Christian  Advocate,  1888,  p.  9.) 

The  Bishops'  "Constitutional"  Address  did  not  give  either 
the  names  of  the  persons  against  which,  in  private  correspond- 
ence only,  objections  had  been  made,  nor  did  it  give  the  names 
of  the  would-be  challengers.  A  real  challenge  was,  of  course, 
impossible  until  the  name  should  be  read  in  calling  the  roll 
of  the  Conference  about  to  be  organized.  And  yet,  on  the 
mere  threat  of  a  challenge,  which  challenge  did  not,  and  could 
not,  at  that  time  exist,  the  bishops  presumed  to  do  by  an  as- 
sumption of  constitutional  authority  what  they  could  not 
do  either  by  justice  or  by  law.  The  well-established  principle, 
that  a  legislative  body  is  tKe  judge  of  the  qualifications  of 
its  own  members,  was  evaded  by  bringing  forward  the  docu- 
ment before  the  Conference  had  any  legal  existence.  No  mo- 
tion could  be  made,  no  point  of  order  taken,  no  stay  of  pro- 
ceeding  effected,   no   protest   offered.     Thus,   by  episcopal 


Lay  Delegation. 


fiat,  in  the  very  presence  of  all  the  elements  of  a  General  Con- 
ference, the  commencement  of  whose  existence  was,  by  this 
act,  just  so  much  delayed,  the  initial  rights  of  those  women, 
on  the  basis  of  their  regular  credentials,  were  ignored;  the 
secretary  obeyed  the  command  of  the  bishops,  and  the  House 
was  organized  without  including  the  names  of  the  duly-elected 
women.  Thus,  from  a  weak  position  in  the  lobby,  instead  of 
from  a  strong  position  in  the  House,  the  battle  of  the  women's 
side  of  lay  delegation  was  fought  and  lost.  So  the  women 
must  wait. 

And  yet  the  episcopal  manifesto  announced  that  it  was 
the  purpose  of  the  bishops  to  see  that  "the  subject  be  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Conference  for  action,  without  prejudice 
to  the  rights  of  any  party  in  the  case!" 

In  due  time  the  subject  of  the  eligibility  of  women  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  which*  reported  adversely;  and  the 
report,  on  a  vote  by  orders,  was  adopted. 

The  following  are  the  figures  in  the  case: 

Ministerial  vote — In  favor  of  report  excluding  women,  159; 
against  the  report  excluding  women,  122. 

Lay  vote — For  the  report  excluding  women,  78;  against 
the  report  excluding  women,  76. 

As  there  was  so  small  a  majority  against  the  admission 
of  women,  the  friends  of  the  measure  secured  a  re-reference 
of  the  question  to  the  annual  conferences,  and  to  the  entire 
adult  membership  of  the  Church,  with  the  following  result: 

Ministerial  vote — For  admission  of  women  to  Lay  Elec- 
toral and  General  Conferences,  5,609;  against  admission  of 
women,  5,144. 

Lay  vote — For  admission  of  women,  235,668;  against  ad- 
mission of  women,  163,843. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1892  no  women  appeared 
as  delegates,  though  two  had  been  elected  as  alternates. 
The  adverse  report  of  the  voting  was  not,  however,  accepted 
as  the  final  settlement  of  the  question.  On  the  last  day  of 
the  session,  the  Judiciary  Committee,  containing  some  of  the 
most  determined  opponents  of  women  delegations,  was  asked 
to  give  an  official  definition  of  the  words  "laymen"  and  "lay 
delegates"  as  they  occur  in  paragraphs  55  to  62  of  the  Disci- 


346 


The  General  Conference. 


pline.  A  short  time  before  the  final  adjournment,  the  com- 
mittee reported,  concerning  these  words,  "that  they  do  not 
apply  to  both  sexes,  but  apply  to  men  only."  (Journal  of 
General  Conference,  1892,  p.  358.) 

This  was  claimed  to  be  a  strictly  legal  and  "constitutional" 
definition,  though  reference  was  made  to  the  discussions 
thereon  which  had  taken  place  in  recent  Conference  sessions. 

This  new  "legal"  definition  of  the  words,  whose  meaning, 
as  fixed  by  the  General  Conference,  had  stood  in  the  Disci- 
pline for  years,  was  too  evidently  partisan  to  escape  being 
challenged.  Members  were  already  preparing  to  depart;  but 
such  an  utterance  could  not  be  left  to  work  its  mischief  in 
the  Church  for  the  next  quadrennium  without  dispute.  Ac- 
cordingl}r,  D.  H.  Moore  moved,  as  a  substitute  for  the  report, 
that  the  word  "laymen,"  when  used  in  connection  with  the 
election  of  "lay  delegates,"  must,  according  to  the  very  words 
of  the  Discipline,  "be  held  to  include  both  men  and  women." 

At  this  point,  J.  "W.  Hamilton  moved  an  amendment  to 
the  substitute  of  Dr.  Moore,  the  essential  feature  whereof  was 
the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  we  submit  to  the  annual  conferences  the  propo- 
sition to  amend  the  Second  Restrictive  Ilule,  by  adding  the  words, 
'And  said  delegates  must  be  male  members'  after  the  words,  'two 
lay  delegates  for  an  annual  conference;'  so  that  it  will  read,  'nor  of 
more  than  two  lay  delegates  for  an  annual  conference,  and  said 
delegates  must  be  male  members.'  " 

The  remainder  of  the  proposition  of  Dr.  Hamilton  pointed 
out  the  manner  in  which  the  proposition  was  to  be  sent  down, 
and  the  result  of  the  failure  to  carry  the"  measure  by  a  three- 
fourths'  vote  of  the  annual  conferences.  Unless  the  new  defi- 
nition of  the  Judiciary  Committee  was  thus  sustained,  women 
were  to  be  held  eligible  to  membership  in  the  General  Con- 
ference. 

By  this  form  of  approach  to  the  annual  conferences  the  bur- 
den of  proof  was  thrown  upon  those  who  agreed  with  the 
Judiciary  Committee.  Hitherto  this  burden,  which  required 
them  to  obtain  a  three-fourths  majority  for  their  proposition, 
had  been  borne  by  the  reformers.  Thus  the  conservatives 
were  compelled  to  face  the  works  behind  which  they  had  for- 


Lay  Delegation* 


Ml 


merly  fought.  When  this  state  of  the  case  was  fully  realized, 
there  was  such  a  scene  of  contention  in  the  Church  as  had 
not  been  witnessed  since  the  "irrepressible  conflict"  in  1844. 

There  was  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  "the  Hamilton 
Amendment,"  as  it  was  popularly  known,  for  which  the  bill 
itself  was  not  responsible.  That  proposition  was  a  simple  one, 
based  on  the  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  new  definition 
of  the  Judiciary  Committee;  but  the  popular  mind  at  once 
overleaped  this  primary  feature  of  the  case,  and  fixed  itself 
upon  the  possible  result  of  the  vote.  Hence  it  began  to  be 
said,  by  way  of  explanation,  "If  you  are  in  favor  of  the  women, 
vote  against  the  amendment;  if  you  are  against  them,  vote 
for  it." 

For  this  putting  of  the  case,  and  not  for  the  actual  form 
of  the  "amendment,"  the  measure  was  denounced  as  "uncon- 
stitutional" and  "revolutionary,"  with  many  shorter  terms  of 
similar  import.  "This  negative  way  of  voting"  was  held  up 
as  evidence  of  bad  faith;  and  so  industriously  was  this  objec- 
tion pushed  that  there  began  to  be  some  confusion  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  were  to  vote  on  the  question,  .as  to  whether 
the  proposition  were  regular  and  legal  or 'not. 

In  consequence  of  this,  the  Colorado  Annual  Conference 
sent  out  another  proposition,  which  proposed  directly  an 
addition  to  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule  of  the  words,  "and 
such  delegates  may  be  either  men  or  women."  This  restored 
the  familiar  manner  of  voting,  put  the  burden  of  proof  back 
on  the  shoulders  of  those  who  had  always  carried  it;  and  the 
Conferences  which  had  not  voted  either  substituted  the  Colo- 
rado for  the  Hamilton  Amendment,  voted  on  both  questions, 
or  refused  to  vote  at  all.  The  voting-lists  on  both  these  propo- 
sitions thereafter  appeared  in  the  Church  papers  side  by  side. 

The  following  figures  on  this  dual  vote,  which,  in  the 
nature  of  the  case,  could  be  combined,  are  taken  from  the 
Daily  Christian  Advocate  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896: 

For  the  "Hamilton  Amendment;"  that  is  to  say,  for  the 
new  definition  of  the  words  "laymen"  and  "lay  delegates," 
reported  by  the  Judiciary  Committee  at  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1892,  said  definition  making  the  words  to  signify 
"men  only,"  474;  against  said  definition,  3,748. 


348 


The  General  Conference. 


For  the  Colorado  proposition;  that  is  to  say,  for  the  ad- 
dition of  the  words,  "and  such  delegates  may  be  either  men 
or  women/'  to  the  Second  Restrictive  Rule,  7,554;  against 
such  addition,  2,605. 

It  thus  appears  that  the  Hamilton  Amendment,  and  with 
it  the  new  definition  as  above  stated,  was  lost  by  a  three- 
fourths'  vote  of  those  voting  on  it,  with  580  votes  to  spare. 

The  Colorado  proposition  was  also  lost  for  want  of  sixty-five 
votes. 

On  the  strength  of  the  above  showing,  four  women  were 
elected  as  lay  delegates  to  the  General  Conference  of  1896: 
Jane  F.  Bashford,  Ohio;  Ada  C.  Butcher,  Xorth  India; 
Lois  S.  Parker,  Xorth  India;  Lydia  Trimble,  Foochow.  The 
first  three  of  these  delegates  appeared  at  the  first  session;  the 
fourth  arrived  soon  after.  Their  names  had  been  duly  entered 
on  the  roll  of  the  Conference,  and  were  also  duly  called. 

On  the  call  of  the  name  of  Miss  Trimble,  whose  confer- 
ence came  first  in  alphabetical  order,  a  motion  was  made,  with 
intent  to  keep  her  out  of  her  seat  until  her  right  thereto 
"could  be  properly  determined  by  a  committee  of  the  body;" 
but  the  presiding  officer,  with  a  sense  of  the  temper  of  the 
house,  ruled  the  motion  out  of  order,  on  the  ground  that  the 
Conference  was  not  yet  organized,  and  the  presence  of  a 
quorum  had  not  yet  been  officially  announced.  The  other 
names  of  women  were  called  in  due  course.  They  answered 
to  their  names,  and  thus,  beyond  all  contradiction,  they  were 
members  of  the  General  Conference,  and  would  continue  such 
until  the  Conference  should  put  them  out. 

A  paper — half  challenge,  half  protest — was  presented  by 
J.  If.  Buckley;  but  as  it  did  not  contain  the  names  of  the 
women  whose  eligibility  it  disputed,  it  was  held  to  be  of 
no  official  force.  Dr.  Buckley,  later  on,  moved  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  Committee  on  the  Eligibility  of  Women  to  Mem- 
bership in  the  General  Conference,  to  which  the  cases  of  the 
women  who  had  been  admitted  by  roll-call  should  be  referred. 
Carried.    (See  Journal,  General  Conference,  1896,  p.  83.) 

A  delegate  desired  to  know  what  would  be  the  status  of 
the  women  in  question  in  the  meantime,  whereupon  J.  B.  Graw, 
the  same  member  who  had  attempted  to  prevent  the  calling 


Lay  Delegation* 


349 


of  the  names  of  women  in  the  roll  of  the  Conference,  moved 
"that  no  persons  whose  eligibility  has  been  challenged  shall 
be  permitted  to  participate  in  the  deliberations  of  this  Con- 
ference until  the  committee  shall  have  reported."  Upon  this 
cries  of  "No!  no!  no!"  were  heard  from  all  over  the  floor  of 
the  house,  and,  on  motion  of  A.  B.  Leonard,  by  an  almost  unan- 
imous vote,  the  motion  of  J.  B.  Graw  was  laid  on  the  table. 
Thus  again  the  actual  membership  of  the  women  delegates  was 
confirmed. 

On  the  4th  of  May  the  majority  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Eligibility  of  Women  was  presented,  which  declared  that  the 
challenge  of  the  women  delegates  was  not  sustained,  and  they 
were  "not  ineligible  to  this  body."  The  report  was  signed  by 
A.  J.  Kynett,  Chairman;  John  W.  Hamilton,  David  H.  Moore, 
A.  B.  Leonard,  Earl  Cranston,  E.  T.  Nelson,  Samuel  Dickie, 
and  others. 

A  long  minority  report  was  presented  by  T.  B.  Neely, 
which  concluded  by  declaring  that  "to  seat  the  contestants 
would  tend  to  destroy  all  respect  for  the  Constitution  of  the 
Church,  and  for  the  interpretations  and  decisions  of  the 
General  Conference."  The  document  was  signed  by  II.  E. 
Brill,  J.  B.  Graw,  J.  M.  Buckley,  C.  J.  Little,  Jacob  Roth- 
weiler,  T.  B.  Neely,  and  others.  The  consideration  of  the 
subject  involved  in  the  two  reports  was  set  for  ten  o'clock 
in  the  morning  of  the  following  day. 

In  due  course  the  great  debate  came  on — great  only  as  to 
its  length;  for  it  consisted  of  the  old,  well-worn  arguments 
which,  by  tongue  or  pen,  had  kept  the  Church  in  more  or  less 
of  turmoil  for  nearly  a  third  of  a  quadrennium. 

On  the  6th  of  May,  "A.  B.  Leonard  moved  to  recommit 
the  majority  and  minority  reports,  with  instructions  to  find, 
if  possible,  a  common  ground  of  agreement,  and  report  after 
the  reading  of  the  Journal  to-morrow  morning.  Carried." 
(Journal,  p.  102.) 

This  weakening  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  the  majority, 
with  a  full  and  final  victory  already  within  their  reach,  is 
difficult  to  account  for.  It  transpired  that  Dr.  Buckley,  Dr. 
Graw,  with  perhaps  other  leaders  of  the  opposition,  insisted 
that  their  position  in  the  case  was  a  stern  matter  of  conscience, 


350 


The  General  Conference. 


based  on  the  words  of  IJoly  Scripture,  and  that  therefore  they 
could  never  abandon  it;  but  they  took  no  account  of  the  equally 
tender  consciences  of  those  who  were  opposed  to  their  theories 
and  interpretations.  Another  of  the  same  party  professed 
unalterable  loyalty  to  "the  Constitution/'  and  from  his  po- 
sition he  never  could  be  moved;  therefore  the  leaders  of  the 
majority  consented  to  fight  the  whole  battle  over  again,  with 
the  view  of  finding  "common  ground." 

But  "common  ground'7  was  not  the  prime  requirement  in 
the  case.  By  consenting  to  a  recommitment,  the  majority 
of  the  body  lost  its  clear  command  of  the  situation;  and  the 
inevitable  compromise  report  soon  followed,  which  they  now 
felt  in  honor  bound  to  accept. 

The  leaders  of  the  minority,  in  private  council,  professed 
their  great  desire  that,  as  the  battle  was  lost  to  them,  the 
women  might  be  admitted  in  a  "constitutional  way,"  and  not 
in  the  questionable  attitude  which  they  then  occupied  on  ac- 
count of  the  irregular  voting  in  the  annual  conferences. 
Therefore  it  would  be  necessary,  said  they,  to  have  the  ques- 
tion of  the  eligibility  of  women  to  membership  in  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  voted  on  once  more  by  the  annual  conferences 
in  a  direct  and  "constitutional"  manner  so  that  hereafter 
there  could  be  no  dispute  over  their  position.  All  this,  and  vic- 
tory besides,  the  compromise  report  conceded,  as  the  follow- 
ing quotations  from  the  document  will  sufficiently  show. 
Much  of  its  space  was  taken  up  with  details  of  the  plan  of 
voting  on  the  question;  but  the  vital  points  were  as  follows: 

"Resolved,  2.  That  in  consideration  of  the  general  desire  for  the 
early  and  final  settlement  of  the  whole  question,  and  in  view  of  the 
proposed  submission  to  the  annual  conferences,  we  recommend  that 
no  formal  decision  of  the  question  of  eligibility  be  made  at  this  time. 

"The  challenge  not  having  been  judicially  passed  upon,  those 
occupying  the  seats  in  question  do  so  under  a  title  in  dispute,  yet 
without  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  either  the  challengers  or  the  chal- 
lenged, and  without  establishing  a  precedent." 

The  Conference  had  become  wearied  of  the  subject,  and 
to  be  rid  of  it,  even  with  some  loss  in  the  premises,  was  a  re- 
lief. Besides,  it  was  a  compromise,  a  piece  of  "common  ground" 
immensely  smaller  than  what  they  had  possessed  before  the 


Lay  Delegation. 


351 


argument  began;  but,  after  all,  it  was  not  exactly  their  own 
quarrel.  Time  was  passing,  and,  accordingly,  the  halfway 
surrender  was  ratified  by  a  joint  yea  and  nay  vote,  as  follows: 

For  the  compromise  plan  (as  above  stated),  425. 

Against  the  compromise  plan  (as  above  stated),  98. 

Absent  or  not  voting,  12. 

Compromises  may  sometimes  be  useful  as  peacemakers, 
but  more  often  they  end  in  making  more  confusion.  It  was 
presumed  that  this  proposition  would  be  accepted  by  the  an- 
nual conferences  as  a  relief  to  the  long-continued  strife,  and 
would  be  adopted  with  general  consent.  But  such  has  not  been 
the  case.  In  some  form  or  other  the  woman  question  still 
exists,  and,  because  of  "conscience"  and  "Constitution,"  there 
will,  no  doubt,  be  room  for  further  history  in  the  case. 

It  only  remains  to  be  stated  that  the  four  women  who 
were  forced  to  endure  the  above  trying  ordeal,  after  having  their 
rights  vindicated  by  repeated  votes  of  the  Conference,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  withdrew  from  the  seats  whicli  that 
poor  "compromise"  had  left  "contested;"  and  their  faces  were, 
officially,  seen  no  more.  As  a  final  acknowledgment  of  their 
rights  as  members  of  the  House,  the  fact  becomes  one  of  historic 
interest  that,  in  the  matter  of  allowances  for  travel,  and  other- 
wise, they  were  treated  like  other  lay  delegates  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1896. 

Under  the  admirable  administration  of  the  General  Con- 
ference Commission  in  1896  there  was  no  room  for  question 
concerning  the  right  of  lay  delegates  to  receive  the  usual  al- 
lowances as  made  to  clerical  members  for  expenses  of  travel. 
The  treasury  of  the  commission  held  ample  funds  for  all 
legitimate  costs  incident  to,  the  great  assembly.  But  the  claim 
of  lay  delegates  to  have  their  expenses  paid  out  of  the  funds 
of  the  Book  Concern,  as  had  previously  been  done,  is  mani- 
festly an  open  disobedience  of  the  Constitution  of  the  General 
Conference,  as  contained  in  the  Fifth  Restrictive  Rule. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


CHURCH  INSTITUTIONS  AXD  SOCIETIES. 

r  I  THE  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  become  a  great  re- 
ligious  nation;  and  its  various  departments  reach  out 
their  beneficent  hands  in  countless  and  constant  works  of  help- 
fulness. The  Methodist  population  of  the  world,  numbering 
over  five  millions  of  souls,  and  speaking  in  about  thirty  different 
tongues,  makes  occasion  for  a  great  system  of  organized  chari- 
ties, the  like  whereof,  in  some  respects,  the  world  has  never 
seen.  Prominent  among  these,  and  first  in  order  of  time, 
stands  the 

METHODIST  BOOK  CONCERN. 

The  earliest  collateral  work  of  the  Wesleyan  preachers  was 
the  circulation  of  Christian  literature;  and  the  earliest  Meth- 
odist Book  Concern  was  John  Wesley  himself.  On  his  own 
responsibility,  and  at  his  own  cost,  the  great  leader  became 
author,  editor,  and  publisher  of  a  whole  library  of  useful  vol- 
umes, which  it  was  an  important  part  of  the  duty  of  his  "help- 
ers" to  persuade  the  people  to  buy.  This  "book-room"  was 
the  only  and  sufficient  theological  seminary  for  those  itinerant 
jireachers;  and  when  some  of  them  came  over  to  America,  they 
brought  the  book-room  idea  with  them. 

From  the  "minutes  of  some  conversations  between  the 
preachers  in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley,"  pub- 
lished in  Philadelphia  in  1773,  it  appears  that  one  Robert 
Williams  had  presumed  to  reprint  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  books 
without  permission  of  the  author,  for  which  he  was  mildly 
reproved,  thus: 

"4.  None  of  the  preachers  in  America  to  reprint  any  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's books  without  his  authority  (when  it  can  be  gotten),  and  the 
consent  of  their  brethren. 

"5.  Robert  Williams  to  sell  the  books  he  has  already  printed; 
but  to  print  no  more,  unless  under  the  above  restrictions." 

The  name  of  Williams  appears  in  the  list  of  "assistants" 
for  1774,  but  never  in  the  list  of  appointments.    Thus  it  would 

352 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


353 


appear  that  it  was  not  solely  on  account  of  their  sense  of  Mr. 
Wesley's  property  in  the  books,  but  to  prevent  the  Betting  up 
of  a  private  enterprise  instead  of  one  which  the  little  confer- 
ence could  control,  that  the  above  direction  was  given. 

That  the  preachers  were  not  a  "bookish"  class  of  persons 
appears  from  the  following,  in  the  "Minutes"  for  1781: 

'-Qiics.  8.  Ought  not  libe  preachers  olten  to  read  the  'Rules  of 
the  Societies,'  the  'Character  of  a  Methodist,'  and  the  'Plain  Account 
of  Christian  Perfection,'  if  they  have  them? 
-  "Answer.  Yes." 

Small  indeed  must  have  been  the  library  which  did  not 
include  these  important  little  books.  But  Asbury  was  deter- 
mined to  improve  the  literary  status  of  his  preachers,  and, 
through  them,  of  his  people.  This  appears  from  the  appoint- 
ment of  John  Dickins  as  "Book  Steward"  at  Philadelphia,  and 
Philip  Cox  as  "Traveling  Book  Steward."  This  was  at  the 
conference  of  1789. 

Dickins  had  the  instincts  of  a  scholar  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  a  reformer.  He  had  been  educated  partly  in  London  and 
partly  at  the  famous  school  at  Eton,  and,  next  to  Bishop  Coke, 
he  was  the  most  learned  Methodist  in  America.  His  generous 
act  of  accepting  the  appointment  as  Book  Steward,  and  furnish- 
ing the  capital  for  the  book-room  himself,  the  amount  being 
six  hundred  dollars — a  considerable  sum  for  those  days — 
proves  him  to  have  been,  in  fortune  as  well  as  in  learning,  far 
above  the  average  of  the  American  preachers  of  that  early  day. 

The  following  pen  picture  from  that  rare  book,  The  Meth- 
odist Discipline  for  1792,  will  be  useful  in  setting  forth  the 
Methodist  Book  Concern  in  its  day  of  small  things: 

"Of  the  Printing  of  Books  and  the  Application  of  the  Profits 
arising  therefrom. 

"Ques.  1.  Who  is  employed  to  manage  the  printing  business? 
"Answer.  John  Dickins. 

Ques.  2.  What  allowances  shall  be  paid  him  annually  for  his 
services? 

"Answer  1.  200  dollars  for  a  dwelling-house  and  for  a  book-room. 

"2.  80  dollars  for  a  boy; 

"3.  53%  dollars  for  firewood;  and 

"4.  333  dollars  to  clothe  and  feed  himself,  his  wife,  and  his 
children. 
23 


354 


The  General  Conference, 


"Ques.  3.  What  powers  shall  be  granted  him? 
"Answer  1.  To    regulate    the    publications    according    to  the 
finances. 

"2.  To  complain  to  the  district  conferences  if  any  preachers  shall 
neglect  to  make  due  payment  for  books. 

"3.  To  reprint  from  time  to  time  such  books  or  treatises  as  he 
and  the  other  members  of  the  Book  Committee  shall  unanimously 
judge  proper. 

"Ques.  4.  Who  shall  form  the  Book  Committee? 

"Ansicer.  John  Dickins,  Thomas  Haskins,  and  the  preachers  who 
are  stationed  in  Philadelphia  from  time  to  time. 

"Ques.  5.  What  sum  of  money  shall  be  allowed  distressed 
preachers  out  of  the  book  fund  till  the  next  General  Conference? 

"Ansicer.  206%  dollars  per  annum  (i.  e.,  for  all  the  distressed 
preachers,  in  the  aggregate). 

"Ques.  6.  How  is  the  money  mentioned  above,  for  the  benefit 
of  distressed  preachers,  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  book  fund? 

"Answer.  By  the  bishop,  according  to  the  united  judgment  of 
himself  and  the  district  conferences."  (Discipline  of  1792,  pages 
57,  58.) 

It  was  at  the  General  Conference  of  1792,  that  a  loan  of 
four  thousand  dollars  was  ordered  to  be  made  by  the  Book 
Stewards  to  that  ill-fated  institution,  Cokesbury  College.  Three 
years  afterwards  the  college  building  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
a  portion  of  the  loan  was  never  repaid. 

In  1789  the  genesis  of  the  long-time  honorable  Methodist 
Magazine  appears.  It  was  called  The  Arminian  Magazine,  after 
Mr.  Wesley's  magazine  of  the  same  denomination,  and  was 
largely  a  reprint  of  it.  Only  two  volumes  were  issued.  The 
Methodist  Magazine  was  not  successfully  inaugurated  until 
1818,  since  which  year  it  has  been  continually  published  (ex- 
cept in  1829)  until  the  present,  changed  into  a  quarterly  in  1830, 
and  in  1885  into  a  bi-monthly  review. 

In  1798  Dickins  died,  a  victim  of  the  terrible  epidemic, 
the  yellow  fever,  which  prevailed  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
during  the  autumn  of  that  year.  His  death  was  triumphant, 
a  fitting  close  to  a  consecrated  life.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Ezekiel  Cooper. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1800,  the  "Book  Committee" 
was  ordered  to  be  appointed  by  the  Philadelphia  Conference. 
In  the  Minutes  of  that  session  the  name  "Book  Concern"  for 
the  first  time  appeared.    At  the  General  Conference  of  1804, 


Church  Institutions  and  Socirti*.  355 


held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  it  was  ordered  that  the  Book- 
room  be  removed  to  New  York;  and  the  usual  Local  Book 
Committee,  still  in  vogue,  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  New 
York  Conference.  It  was  reported  at  that  session,  by  Ezekiel 
Cooper,  that  the  Book-room,  which,  in  1789,  had  been  estab- 
lished on  a  debt  of  six  hundred  dollars,  now  possessed  a  clear 
capital  of  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars. 

At  first  the  profits  of  the  business  had  been  paid  over  to 
the  Chartered  Fund,  to  be  used  in  connection  therewith  for 
the  benefit  of  suffering  preachers  and  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  deceased  preachers;  but  now  that  the  business  was  so 
greatly  increased,  the  General  Conference  ordered  that  the 
money  be  divided  directly  among  the  seven  annual  conferences, 
each  of  which,  "at  all  events,"  was  to  be  allowed  to  draw  from 
the  Book-room  treasury  at  least  one  hundred  dollars  a  year. 

Now  also  was  appointed  the  first  Standing  Committee  on 
the  "Book  Concern,"  as  it  was  thereafter  called,  one  from 
each  annual  conference.  On  the  recommendation  of  this  .com- 
mittee, the  following  catalogue  of  publications  was  ordered 
to  be  published: 

"1.  A  Methodist  Repository.    To  be  edited  by  Dr.  Coke. 
"2.  The  Portrait  of  St.  Paul,  by  John  Fletcher. 
"3.  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Rev.  Peard  Dickinson. 
"4.  The  General  Irish  Hymn  Book. 

"5.  The  5th,  6th,  7th,  8th,  and  9th  volumes  of  Mr.  Wesley's 
Sermons. 

"6.  The  Ecclesiastical  History,  which  Dr.  Coke,  by  the  solicita- 
tion of  the  Conference,  is  to  prepare  for  the  Committee. 

"7.  Mr.  Wesley's  Appeal.  By  desire,  Dr.  Coke  is  to  adapt  it  to 
the  circumstances  and  situation  of  the  United  States. 

"8.  Mr.  Wesley's  Notes  on  the  New  Testament  to  be  reprinted. 

"9.  Benson's  Life  of  Fletcher. 

"10.  The  Mourner. 

"11.  Cowper's  translation  of  the  Life  of  Madame  Guion. 

"12.  Nineteen  Conversations  on  the  Death  of  Ignatius:  From 
Writings  of  the  Old  Fathers. 

"13.  The  Second  Volume  of  Mr.  Wesley's  Journal."  (See  Jour- 
nal of  General  Conference  1804,  page  67.) 

The  first  number  on  this  catalogue  appears  to  have  been 
the  name  of  a  proposed  series  of  books,  after  the  fashion  of 
Mr.  Wesley's  "Libraries."    But  Dr.  Coke  seems  to  have  been 


356 


The  General  Conference. 


unable  to  prepare  the  first  volume,  and  the  plan  was  therefore 
never  carried  out.  John  Wilson,  a  member  of  the  New  York 
Conference,  was  at  this  time  made  Assistant  Book  Steward, 
the  duties  of  the  position  including  those  of  editor  as  well 
as  publisher.  This  combination  was  continued  until  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Christian  Advocate  in  1828. 

For  some  years  there  was  a  contest  at  every  General  Con- 
ference over  the  location  of  the  Book  Concern,  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  being  standing  applicants  for  the  same.  At 
the  session  of  1808,  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  it  was  voted 
that  the  institution  be  continued  at  Xew  York.  This  fact 
is  significant  as  showing  that  the  center  of  Methodist  influ- 
ence was  moving  northward,  though  at  the  beginning  Balti- 
more held  that  honorable  distinction.  At  this  time  the  insti- 
tution had  so  far  increased  in  importance  that  a  separate 
chapter  was  devoted  to  it  in  the  Discipline.  The  liberty  of 
the  Book  Stewards  was  enlarged;  and  it  was  made  the  duty  of 
presiding  elders,  as  well  as  of  preachers,  to  act  as  local  agents 
and  helpers  in  this  department  of  Church  work. 

Possibly  it  might  have  been  on  account  of  the  rival  claims 
of  the  three  chief  Methodist  cities  to  the  location  of  the  publish- 
ing-house that  a  state  of  things  arose  which,  at  the  Conference 
of  1808,  led  to  the  resignation  of  Ezekiel  Cooper,  and  to  the 
call  for  private  proposals  for  carrying  on  the  business  of  the 
Concern.  Peace  presently  prevailed;  but,  for  reasons  not  now 
in  sight,  the  term  of  service  for  the  Book  Stewards  and  editors 
was  limited  to  eight  years  successively.   (Journal  of  1808,  p.  92.) 

In  1812,  at  Xew  York,  the  General  Conference  again  re- 
fused to  remove  the  Book  Concern  to  Baltimore.  Daniel  Hitt 
and  Thomas  Ware,  in  spite  of  sharp  opposition  from  trie  south, 
in  the  interest  of  Baltimore,  were  elected  Book  Stewards,  and 
a  small  beginning  of  a  depository  was  made  in  Philadelphia. 
Persistent  Baltimore  again,  at  the  session  of  1816,  moved  for 
a  change  of  location;  but  the  motion  did  not  prevail.  At  this 
time,  also,  Joshua  Soule  attempted  to  open  the  way  for  the 
election  of  a  layman  to  the  office  of  Book  Steward;  but  to 
this  innovation  the  General  Conference  did  not  give  its 
consent. 

On  motion  of  Peter  Cartwright,  a  small  beginning  for  an- 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies.  357 

other  depository  was  made,  by  appointing  a  person  at  Pitts- 
burg to  receive  from  New  York,  and  forward  to  the  presiding 
elders  in  the  West  such  of  the  publications  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern as  the  preachers  on  their  districts  might  require.  A  reason 
for  this  action  is  found  in  the  frequent  changes,  by  location 
and  otherwise,  in  the  incumbents  of  the  Western  pastorates. 

In  spite  of  the  want  of  unity  in  the  councils  of  the  Church 
over  its  publishing  interests,  the  business  of  the  house  so  rap- 
idly increased  that,  at  the  General  Conference  of  1816,  its 
capital  was  estimated  at  eighty  thousand  dollars. 

Perhaps  it  was  on  account  of  this  unexpected  prosperity  that 
the  following  important  change  in  the  use  of  Book  Concern 
profits  was  ordered  by  the  Conference  of  1816: 

"Resolved,  That  the  Book  Committee  at  New  York  be  authorized 
to  estimate  the  sum  required  to  defray  the  necessary  expenses  of 
the  bishops'  families,  for  which,  agreeably  to  such  estimate,  they 
shall  be  authorized  to  draw  on  the  Editor  and  General  Book 
Steward."    (General  Conference  Journal  1816,  May  23d,  page  173.) 

Thus,  financially  at  least,  the  bishopric  was  made  a  higher 
order  of  ministry.  But  there  were  only  three  bishops  whose 
families  were  to  be  supported  by  the  Book  Concern;  and  for 
this,  as  well  as  other  reasons  growing  out  of  the  relations  of 
the  governors  and  the  governed,  no  question  appears  to  have 
been  raised  as  to  the  straining,  if  not  the  breaking,  of  the 
Sixth  Eestrictive  Eule.  Bishops  were  certainly  "traveling 
preachers;"  and  they  might  have  been  "distressed  traveling 
preachers"  if  this  "relief"  had  not  been  extended  to  them.  But 
it  is  manifest  that,  under  the  strict  interpretation  of  "the 
Constitution,"  so  strongly  urged  by  certain  bishops  at  a  later 
period,  this  use  of  the  profits  of  the  Book  Concern  was  un- 
constitutional. It  certainly  was  not  mentioned  in  the  Eestrictive 
Eules;  and  there  is  nothing  to  show  that  it  was  contemplated 
by  those  who  made  them. 

The  rule  having  been  relaxed  in  relation  to  the  three  great 
men,  it  was  easy  to  use  further  liberty  under  it  on  behalf  of 
smaller  ones.  Hence,  at  the  same  session,  the  deficit  in  the 
expenses  of  the  Conference  delegates  was  ordered  to  be  paid 
out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Book  Concern — a  precedent  which 
has  been  too  frequently  followed  since  that  day.    There  have 


358 


The  General  Conference. 


been  protests  from  time  to  time  against  this  doubtful  pro- 
ceeding, but  they  have  been  received  by  the  older  members 
of  the  House  as  the  vagary  of  some  new  member,  who  does 
not  yet  understand  the  elasticity  of  the  Sixth  Restrictive  Rule. 

Another  illustration  of  this  peculiarity  in  the  Rule  afore- 
said is  found  in  the  gift  of  a  thousand  dollars  to  Joshua  Soule 
over  and  above  his  regular  salary  as  editor  and  General  Book 
Steward.  This  was  voted  to  him  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1816  as  a  token  of  the  high  appreciation  in  which  his 
services  were  held  during  that  specially  embarrassing  term. 
At  the  next  session,  a  similar  compliment  was  paid  to  Thomas 
Mason.  But  when  a  third  retiring  officer,  under  the  eight-year 
limitation,  asked  for  a  repetition  of  the  same  favor,  it  was  re- 
fused.* 

Again,  the  interchange  of  personal  courtesies  between  the 
various  Methodist  Connections  had  by  this  time  become  an 
established  custom,  and  the  expenses  of  the  fraternal  delegates 
to  England,  Canada,  and  other  places  were,  as  a  matter  of 
necessity,  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Book  Concern. 

Still  further  in  the  same  direction,  at  the  session  of  1828, 
the  Conference  ordered  that  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  per  annum  be  paid  to  Bishop  McKendree,  "to  meet 
his  extra  expenses,"  though  at  the  same  time  it  was  ''Resolved, 
That  each  annual  conference  shall  pay  its  proportionate  part 
towards  the  allowance  of  each  one  of  the  bishops."  The  fail- 
ure of  this  latter  method  of  raising  episcopal  salaries,  which 
became  more  marked  as  the  number  of  the  bishops  increased, 
at  length  left  the  burden  of  their  support  to  fall  almost  en- 
tirely upon  the  Book  Concern.  On  this  account  the  impor- 
tance of  this  prolific  institution  again  appears.  Without  it, 
the  Church  would  have  been  compelled  in  its  middle  period 
to  be  content  with  the  same  small  proportion  of  general  su- 
perintendents as  were  held  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
case  in  earlier  and  less  expensive  times. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1872  an  important  change 
was  made,  whereby  the  support  of  the  Episcopate  was  laid  di- 
rectly upon  the  Church.    An  Episcopal  Fund  was  established, 

*The  eight  years' time-limit  for  General  Book  Stewards  and  Editors, 
which  was  established  in  1808,  was  removed  in  1836 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies.  359 


from  the  treasury  whereof  the  bishops  were  to  be  supported. 
There  was  still  a  reliance  upon  the  Book  Concern  for  any 
deficit  in  the  case;  but  at  the  Conference  of  1880  this  last 
financial  bond  between  the  Book  Concern  and  the  Episcopate 
was  severed,  and  the  Episcopal  Fund  was  made  to  carry  the 
total  expense  of  the  general  superintendency.  It  is  pleasant 
to  state  in  this  connection,  though  not  strictly  appertaining 
to  this  history,  that  the  fund  referred  to  above  meets  its  in- 
tended purpose,  having  usually  a  surplus  in  its  treasury,  paid 
directly  by  the  membership  of  the  Church. 

In  1820  the  Western  Depository  was  established  at  Cin- 
cinnati, with  Martin  Ruter  as  Book  Steward.  A  committee  from 
the  Ohio  Annual  Conference,  after  the  manner  at  New  York, 
was  intrusted  with  the  oversight  of  local  affairs. 

With  the  General  Conference  of  1828  a  literary  era  opened 
in  the  Church.  It  was  marked  by  the  establishment  of  a 
weekly  Methodist  newspaper  by  the  Book  Concern  at  New  York 
under  the  name  and  style  of  The  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal 
and  Zion's  Herald.  This  composite  title  was  suggestive  of 
the  previous  existence  of  three  periodicals  in  the  Church;  to 
wit,  Zion's  Herald,  in  Boston,  established  in  1823;  the  Chris- 
tian Advocate,  in  New  York,  commenced  in  1826;  and  the 
Missionary  Journal,  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  the  date  of  whose 
birth  does  not  now  appear.  At  the  date  above  mentioned  these 
three  were  combined  in  one  under  the  administration  of  the 
Book  Concern  in  New  York,  with  Nathan  Bangs  as  editor. 

Up  to  this  time  the  literary  element  in  the  Church  was 
well  represented  by  the  Methodist  Magazine.  If  any  modern 
critic  is  disposed  to  complain  of  the  contents  of  that  very  re- 
spectable periodical,  let  him  remember  that  it  was  edited  by 
men  who  were  also  carrying  the  business  cares  of  the  publish- 
ing-house, and  all  this  at  a.  time  when  the  ministry  was  too 
busy  to  furnish,  gratuitously,  any  large  quantity  of  literary 
material.  But  with  the  establishment  of  the  original  Christian 
Advocate  the  commercial  value  of  brain  products  came  to  be 
more  fully  recognized.  Consequently  the  publications  of  the 
Book  Concern,  especially  its  varied  material  for  the  use  of 
Sunday-schools,  acquired  a  leading  place  in  denominational 
literature. 


360 


The  General  Conference. 


THE  ROOK  CONCERN  LITIGATION. 

Although  this  subject  has  already  been  referred  to  in  these 
pages,  its  great  importance  seems  to  require  more  extensive 
notice. 

On  the  disruption  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  by 
the  action  of  the  delegates  of  the  southern  conferences  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1844,  it  was  agreed,  by  vote  of  the 
whole  body,  that,  on  the  formation  of  a  separate  Church,  to 
be  composed  of  the  annual  conferences  in  the  slaveholding 
states,  the  assets  of  the  Book  Concern  should  be  divided  be- 
tween the  two  sections  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  ac- 
cording to  the  proportionate  number  of  ministers  in  each  of 
the  two  bodies.  The  south  was  to  hold  all  the  real  estate  and 
other  business  assets  of  the  Concern  at  the  depositories  in 
Charleston,  Eichmond,  and  Nashville.  The  cash  assets  of  the 
institution  were  to  be  divided,  by  the  payment  to  accredited 
representatives  of  the  southern  section  of  the  Church  the  sum 
of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  annually  until  the  whole  claim 
was  satisfied.  The  entire  value  of  the  Book  Concern  property 
was  estimated  to  be  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

In  order  to  do  this,  it  was  held  to  be  necessary  to  change 
"the  Sixth  Eestrictive  Pule/'  by  which  the  disposition  of  the 
property  and  profits  of  the  Book  Concern  was  specified.  The 
subject  was  therefore  sent  down  to  the  annual  conferences. 
The  southern  conferences  adopted  the  Plan  of  Separation,  and 
proceeded  to  form  themselves  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  But  there  was  so  much  opposition  to  the  di- 
vision of  the  property — not  of  the  Church — on  the  part  of 
members  of  some  of  the  annual  conferences  that  the  required 
three-fourths'  vote  of  those  bodies  was  not  obtained  in  favor 
of  the  Plan.  Hence  the  General  Conference  of  1848  decided 
that  the  proposed  division  of  the  Book  Concern  could  not, 
constitutionally,  be  made. 

The  Southern  Church  had,  meantime,  appointed  a  com- 
mission, to  meet  a  similar  commission  from  the  north,  for 
the  purpose  of  consummating:  the  division  according  to  the 
Plan  of  Separation.   But,  under  the  decision  of  the  Conference 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


Ml 


of  1848,  there  was  no  power  or  process  by  which  such  a  division 
could  be  made. 

Under  this  embarrassing  state  of  affairs  the  Commission 
of  the  Church  South  brought  suit  against  the  Agents  of  the 
Book  Concern,  both  at  New  York  and  at  Cincinnati.  The 
plaintiffs  were  "Henry  B.  Bascom  and  others,"  the  defendants 
for  the  eastern  house  were  "George  Lane  and  others/'  and 
for  the  western  house,  Swormstedt  and  Poe.  The  court  for 
the  Southern  District  of  the  State  of  New  York  was  held  by 
the  Hon.  Judges  Nelson  and  Betts;  that  for  the  Western  Dis- 
trict of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  was  held  by  Judge 
H.  H.  Leavitt.  The  best-known  name  on  the  list  of  counsel 
for  the  plaintiffs  was  that  of  the  Hon.  Eeverdy  Johnson.  On 
the  side  of  the  defendants  appeared  that  prince  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts bar,  Hon.  Eufus  Choate. 

The  full  report  of  the  case  at  New  York  fills  a  large  volume. 
There  is  space  here  for  only  a  brief  outline.  If  the  basis  of 
the  decision  of  Judge  Nelson  is  true,  then  the  two  sections 
of  the  Church  were  simply  the  divided  parts  of  a  substantial 
unity,  which  had,  by  agreement  within  itself,  made  a  change 
in  its  mode  of  existence.  The  following  brief  quotations  will 
show  the  striking  attitude  of  Judge  Nelson  in  this,  to  him,  un- 
familiar piece  of  litigation: 

"When  the  annual  conferences  in  the  slaveholding  states  acted, 
and  organized  a  Southern  Church,  as  they  did,  the  division  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  into  two  organizations  became  com- 
plete. 

"As  it  respects  the  action  of  this  body  [the  General  Conference] 
in  the  matter  of  division,  no  one  can  pretend  but  that  it  proceeded 
upon  the  assumption  of  unquestioned  power  to  erect  the  Church 
into  two  ecclesiastical  establishments.  .  .  .  Two  ecclesiastical 
organizations  have  taken  the  place  of  one. 

"The  Sixth  Restrictive  Rule  has  no  connection  with  the  question 
of  the  power  of  the  General  Conference  to  change  the  form  of  its 
organization.  The  powers  conferred  [by  the  annual  conferences] 
on  the  General  Conference  are  broad  and  unlimited.  .  .  .  The 
question  of  separation  is  left  [by  the  Plan  of  Separation]  to  their 
southern  brethren  in  the  Church." 

As  proof  of  the  power  of  the  General  Conference  to  di- 
vide the  property  of  the  Book  Concern,  the  judge  referred  to 


362  The  General  Conference. 


the  fact  which  had  appeared  in  evidence,  that  exactly  the  same 
thing  had  lately  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  claim  of  the 
Conference  of  Upper  Canada. 

In  conclusion,  his  Honor  said  that,  even  allowing  the 
force  of  the  Sixth  Restrictive  Rule,  as  claimed  by  the  defend- 
ants, the  southern  ministers  might  be  entitled  to  their  share 
of  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern,  as  they  came  within  the 
description  of  that  rule — they  were  still  laboring  in  the 
Church,  and  they  were  of  that  very  class  of  persons  who  had 
heretofore  been  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  advantage,  and  "for 
whom  it  was  originally  intended."  Hence,  said  Judge  Xelson, 
"the  complainants  are  entitled  to  their  share  in  the  Methodist 
Book  Concern,  and  a  decree  will  be  ordered  accordingly.*'  (See 
report  of  decision  of  Judge  Xelson  in  Western  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, December  3,  1851.) 

The  division  of  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern  held  by 
the  eastern  house  was  made  in  accordance  with  Judge  Xelson's 
decision,  on  the  basis  of  the  Plan  of  Separation.  Thus  a  little 
more  than  one-third  of  its  entire  assets  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

The  final  proceedings  in  respect  to  the  western  house,  as 
shown  by  the  original  records  in  the  case,  were  of  the  nature 
of  an  arbitration.  Suit  was  brought  by  the  commissioners  of 
the  Southern  Church  against  the  western  Agents,  Swormstedt 
and  Poe,  in  the  Western  Circuit  of  the  Supreme  Court,  at 
Cincinnati.  Judge  McLean,  the  presiding  judge,  being  a 
Methodist,  declined  to  hear  the  case,  and  it  was  argued  before 
Judge  H.  H.  Leavitt,  of  the  District  Court.  His  decision  was 
in  favor  of  the  defendants.  The  southern  commissioners  then 
were  about  to  appeal  the  case  to  the  full  bench  of  the  Supreme 
Court  at  Washington,  whereupon,  as  the  decision  at  the  east 
had  been  in  favor  of  the  Southern  Church,  the  western  Agents 
surrendered  their  standing  under  the  decision  of  Judge  Leavitt, 
and  a  pro  rata  division  of  the  property  of  the  western  section 
of  the  Book  Concern  was  made,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
Supreme  Court. 

It  may  be  well  understood  that  such  a  sweeping  reduction 
of  its  assets  caused  no  little  embarrassment  to  the  establish- 
ment; but  the  emergency  was  successfully  passed,  and  in  a 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


368 


few  years  the  Concern  at  the  north  was  stronger  than  ever; 
while  the  Southern  Church  were  possessed  of  a  publishing- 
house  which  ranked  as  the  first  in  the  slaveholding  states  of 
the  Union.  The  records  of  the  above  legal  proceedings  and 
arbitration  show  a  rare  courtesy  of  manner  on  the  part  of  all 
concerned.  If  a  suit  at  law  was  inevitable — and  the  action 
of  the  northern  annual  conferences  left  no  other  alternative — 
a  less  objectionable  one  than  that  above  mentioned  could  not 
well  be  imagined. 

For  more  than  half  a  century  the  Methodist  Book  Concern 
has  been  one  of  the  greatest,  as  it  is  certainly  the  oldest  of 
the  organic  institutions  of  the  Church.  Its  multiplied  publi- 
cations have  contributed  to  the  unity  as  well  as  the  intelligence 
of  the  Methodist  fraternity;  and  with  its  multiplied  depart- 
ments and  its  varied  forms  of  financial  assistance,  it  has  stood 
for  an  amount  of  practical  benevolence  equaled  only  by  that 
of  the  General  Missionary  Society. 

Since  the  close  of  its  formative  period,  few  changes  have 
been  made  in  the  methods  of  its  administration.  The  Stand- 
ing Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  in  the  General  Conference 
of  1896  numbered  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  men,  ministers 
and  laymen — a  body  far  too  large  to  deal  with  any  but  gen- 
eral principles  and  questions.  With  the  growth  of  the  Church, 
thus  indicated,  has  come  the  inevitable  concentration  of  power, 
until  now  it  may  be  said  that,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Book 
Committee  is  the  General  Conference,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Publishing  Agents  are  the  Book  Concern. 

The  ultimate  ownership  of  this  great  estate  is  the  ministry 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  whose  behalf  the  dele- 
gated General  Conference  exercises  a  control.  The  Conference, 
in  turn,  delegates  the  most  of  its  duty  in  the  examination  and 
supervision  of  the  institution  to  the  Standing  Committee  on 
the  Book  Concern,  which  reports  its  findings  and  proposals 
to  the  whole  body  for  approval.  The  final  action  of  the  House 
goes  into  the  Discipline,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  statute  law 
of  the  Church.  This  may  be  called  the  legislative  department 
of  the  institution. 

At  the  head  of  the  executive  department  of  its  two  sections 
stand  the  Publishing  Agents.    Each  of  these  sections  has  its 


364 


The  General  Conference. 


own  charter  under  the  general  law  of  the  state  within  which  it 
is  located.  According  to  these  charters,  Eaton  &  Mains,  both 
before  the  law  and  before  the  Church,  are  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern;  and  Curts  ft  Jennings  are  the  Western  Methodist 
Book  Concern.  (See  Act  of  Incorporation  of  The  Western 
Methodist  Book  Concern,  Hamilton  County  Records,  Church 
Records  Book  Xo.  2,  page  248,  date  of  June  11,  1868.) 

Between  the  General  Conference  and  the  Agents  of  the 
Book  Concern  stands  the  Book  Committee,  consisting  of  one 
member  for  each  of  the  fourteen  General  Conference  Districts, 
into  which  the  entire  Church  is  divided.  There  is  also  a  Local 
Committee  of  three  laymen,  residing  in  Xew  York  or  vicinity, 
and  a  similar  committee  residing  in  or  near  Cincinnati.  These 
twenty  persons  are  the  General  Conference  during  the  interim 
of  the  sessions  of  that  body,  in  the  same  sense  in  which  the  four 
Publishing  Agents  are  the  Book  Concern.  For  convenience, 
the  Book  Committee  divides  itself  into  two  bodies,  known  as 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Sections,  the  former  having  super- 
vision of  the  Concern  in  Xew  York  and  its  dependencies,  the 
latter  having  similar  control  in  Cincinnati  and  its  depend- 
encies. The  entire  Committee  has  one  annual  meeting,  begin- 
ning on  the  second  Wednesday  -in  February;  each  of  the  Sec- 
tions having  also  an  annual  meeting  at  the  place  of,  and  on  the 
day  previous  to,  the  annual  meeting.  The  Local  Committees 
have  a  monthly  meeting  to  examine  into  the  business  of  their 
Section  of  the  Concern  for  the  preceding  month,  and  their 
report  is  submitted  to  the  Section  of  the  Committee  to  which 
they  belong  at  its  own  annual  meeting.  In  this  way  an  almost 
perfect  system  of  audit  is  secured,  as  well  as  a  full  and  prompt 
control  of  all  the  departments  of  the  entire  institution. 

Tender  this  system  the  capital  of  the  Book  Concern  has 
attained  the  proportions  set  down  in  the  following  Report  for 
its  fiscal  year  ending  October  31,  1896: 

Capital  of  Eastern  House  $2,000,505  54 

Capital  of  Western  House   1,341.587  18 

As  a  benevolent  institution  also  the  Book  Concern  ranks 
among  the  greatest  in  the  Church.  Besides  supplying  funds  for 
the  various  connectional  expenses  not  otherwise  provided  for, 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies,  -JOT) 

in  the  year  1896  the  sum  of  $125,000  was  paid  over  to  the  sev- 
eral annual  conferences,  to  be  by  them  distributed  to  the  con- 
ference claimants. 

It  seems  evident  that  the  clergy  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  is  not  wanting  in  business  talent;  for,  with  a  single  ex- 
ception, already  noted,  every  agent  and  editor  elected  by  the 
General  Conference  to  serve  on  the  official  staff  of  the  Book 
Concern  has  been  in  full  and  regular  connection  with  the  min- 
istry of  the  Church. 

THE  GENERAL  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

The  early  Methodists  on  the  American  frontier  were  some- 
what excusable  for  their  want  of  interest  in  the  vast  scheme 
of  the  world's  evangelization.  In  one  sense  they  were  foreign 
missionaries  themselves.  The  Indians  about  them  were  veritable 
heathen ;  a  class  of  heathen,  indeed,  whose  gospeling  was  one  of 
the  most  difficult  of  missionary  enterprises.  In  the  records  of 
some  of  the  early  frontier  conferences  may  be  read  opposite  the 
names  of  some  itinerant  preachers,  "Killed  by  the  Indians," 
"Murdered  by  the  Indians."  This  was  normal,  a  thing  to  be 
expected,  no  less  than  death  by  fever  or  drowning. 

But  some  of  the  Methodist  people  in  the  towns  at  an  early 
period  began  to  feel  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  do  something 
for  the  salvation  of  the  great  masses  of  mankind  who  were 
without  God  and  without  hope  in  the  world.  Thus  it  was  that 
in  the  year  1819  a  combined  Missionary  and  Bible  Society  was 
formed  in  the  city  of  New  York.  It  began  with  an  imposing 
list  of  officers  and  managers;  but  its  meetings  soon  dwindled 
away  until  almost  the  only  man  whose  faith  did  not  fail  was 
Joshua  Soule,  one  of  the  Book  Stewards  of  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern. 

Of  this  first  missionary  treasurer  in  the  infant  Church,  the 
late  venerable  Dr.  J.  M.  Reid,  in  his  "History  of  Missions,"  has 
the  following  record: 

"Rev.  Joshua  Soule  at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Board,  when 
very  few  were  present,  and  when  the  whole  outlook*  was  gloomy 
indeed,  said:  'The  time  will  come  when  every  man  who  assisted  in 
the  organization  of  this  society,  and  persevered  in  the  undertaking, 
will  consider  it  one  of  the  most  honorable  periods  of  his  life.'  " 
(History  Missionary  Society,  page  21.) 


366 


The  General  Conference. 


But  the  early  Methodists,  with  few  exceptions,  were  what 
Abraham  Lincoln  would  have  called  "plain  people."  Their 
minds  and  hearts  were  not  equal  to  the  great  prophetic  view  of 
the  situation  taken  by  such  men  as  Soule  and  Bangs.  The 
vastness  of  the  scope  of  this  new  enterprise  was  urged  against 
it.  Are  not  the  hands  of  our  preachers  and  people  more  than 
full  of  work  already?  Who  can  tell  where  this  thing  will  stop? 
Visionary  people  will  not  be  satisfied  with  sending  out  mission- 
aries to  convert  the  Indians,  but  they  would  some  day  be  wild 
enough  to  ask  for  money  to  establish  missions  among  the  swarm- 
ing millions  in  India,  and  China,  and  the  isles  afar  off! 

Thus  the  new  Missionary  Society  came  into  disfavor.  Xo 
less  than  eight  of  the  original  Board  of  Managers  resigned  their 
offices  during  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  and  if  it  had  not 
been  for  the  two  stewards  of  the  Methodist  Book  Concern, 
Soule  and  Bangs,  the  enterprise  must  have  sunk  out  of  sight. 

At  its  session  in  1820,  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  the 
General  Conference  indorsed  the  new  society7,  and  such  an  im- 
petus was  given  it  thereby  that  the  late  missionary  secretary, 
Dr.  J.  M.  Eeid,  affirms  that  "the  existence  of  the  society  must 
really  date  from  the  General  Conference  of  1820."  (History 
Missionary  Society,  page  25.)  The  prior  work  of  the  Woman's 
Missionary  Society  at  New  York,  and  of  the  Philadelphia  Con- 
ference Missionary  Society,  together  with  other  important  early 
movements  in  the  same  direction,  do  not  lie  within  the  province 
of  the  present  volume.  For  an  admirable  record  of  the  entire 
missionary  history  of  the  Church,  readers  are  referred  to  the 
work  of  Rev.  Dr.  Eeid,  above  mentioned. 

The  General  Conference  of  1820  secured  changes  in  the 
Constitution  of  the  society,  one  of  which  was  the  separation  of 
the  two  departments,  mission  work  and  Bible  work,  the  latter 
having  already  a  life  and  field  of  its  own.  Branch  societies  were 
advised  or  ordered  to  be  formed  in  the  annual  conferences  and 
in  the  local  Churches,  which  were  to  transmit  their  collections 
to  the  General  Book  Stewards  at  New  York,  who  were  appointed 
ex-oflicio  treasurers  of  the  institution.  But  at  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1828  the  funds,  which  had  been  accumulating  for 
eight  years,  amounted  to  only  a  hundred  and  sixty-seven  dol- 
lars and  eleven  cents. 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


367 


In  1833  the  first  foreign  mission  of  the  society  was  com- 
menced in  Liberia.  With  a  definite  object  before  them,  the 
Churches  began  to  awake  to  the  practical  reality  of  the  cause. 
Donations  increased,  a  number  of  persons  came  forward  and 
offered  themselves  for  service  under  the  society;  and  a  steady 
advance  was  made  in  receipts  until,  at  the  Conference  of  1836, 
they  amounted  to  nearly  $G0,000. 

At  the  date  above  mentioned  the  General  Conference  made 
itself  the  responsible  head  of  the  Missionary  Society,  by  elect- 
ing Nathan  Bangs  as  "Resident  Corresponding  Secretary"  at 
New  York.  In  1840,  William  Capers  and  Edward  R.  Ames 
were  associated  with  Dr.  Bangs,  Capers  to  promote  the  interests 
of  the  society  in  the  south,  and  Ames  in  the  west.  But  the 
disturbed  condition  of  the  Church  in  1844  led  to  their  retire- 
ment, and  Dr.  Bangs  presently  resigned  his  post  to  accept  the 
presidency  of  the  Wesleyan  University  at  Middletown,  Conn. 
His  successor  was  Rev.  Charles  Pitman,  of  the  New  Jersey  Con- 
ference, who  in  1850  was  succeeded  by  the  ever-to-be-remem- 
bered John  P.  Durbin.  This  brings  the  account  of  the  society 
down  to  a  period  within  the  memory  of  many  now  living,  and 
with  the  opening  of  the  career  of  this  first  great  missionary 
secretary  the  personal  record  in  this  chapter  closes.  All  matters 
of  personal  and  official  interest  of  later  date  may  be  found 
in  the  chronological  history  of  the  General  Conference,  con- 
tained in  Part  I  of  this  volume. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY. 

In  its  original  form  the  Constitution  of  "The  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America"  con- 
templated chiefly  the  extension  of  the  missionary  work  of  the 
annual  conferences  "throughout  the  United  States  and  else- 
where," the  last  two  words  being  merely  a  vague  suggestion 
of  the  distant  possibilities  of  the  case. 

By  the  revised  Constitution  of  183G  the  bishops  were  author- 
ized to  establish  missions,  appoint  missionaries,  and  pay  their 
expenses  by  drafts  on  the  treasury  of  the  society.  In  1844  the 
General  Conference  again  modified  the  Constitution,  so  as  to 
take  from  the  New  York  Annual  Conference  the  power  of  filling 
vacancies  in  the  office  of  corresponding  secretary,  and  give  it 


368 


The  General  Conference. 


to  the  bishops.  Thus  it  was  by  the  Episcopal  Board  that  Dr. 
Durbin  came  to  the  throne. 

The  General  Conference  of  1844  caused  the  territory  of  the 
Church  to  be  divided  into  as  many  paission  districts  as  there 
were  effective  bishops — five  at  the  close  of  that  session — and 
each  bishop  was  to  appoint  one  man  from  his  mission  district, 
to  constitute,  with  the  bishops,  the  General  Missionary  Com- 
mittee. This  committee  was  to  meet  annually  in  the  city  of 
Xew  York,  and,  jointly  with  the  Board  of  Managers,  Corre- 
sponding Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  they  were  to  make  the 
appropriations  for  the  work  of  the  ensuing  year,  both  for  do- 
mestic and  for  foreign  missions. 

The  division  above  mentioned  was  afterwards  objected  to, 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  never  generally  understood  by  the 
Church,  and  also  that  "missionary  mone}7"  was  raised  almost 
entirely  by  appeals  for  the  work  in  foreign  lands.  On  this 
account  efforts  have  been  repeatedly  made  to  divide  the  society 
itself  into  two  distinct  and  separate  bodies;  one  to  be  called 
the  Home  Missionary  Society,  and  the  other  the  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society.  But  the  foreign  missionary  interest  has  always 
been  numerically  weak  in  the  General  Conference,  and  the 
proposed  change  has  not  prevailed. 

At  the  General  Conference  of  1864  the  bishops  were  vested 
with  full  powers  to  administer  the  missions  of  the  society  dur- 
ing the  interim  of  the  General  Conference.  Thus,  with  the 
Great  Council,  the  Episcopal  Board,  the  Corresponding  Secre- 
taries, the  Board  of  Managers,  and  the  General  Missionary  Com- 
mittee, some  of  the  missionaries  have  been  of  the  opinion  that 
the  society  labored  under  a  superabundance  of  government, 
and  that,  too,  by  those  who,  with  the  exception  of  the  bishops, 
had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the  field. 

THE  NEW  CONSTITUTION. 

At  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  in  1872,  so  many 
changes  were  made  in  the  form  and  work  of  the  society  that 
a  new  charter  was  required.  This  was  granted  by  the  legislature 
of  the  state  of  New  York  in  the  year  1873;  and,  together  with 
the  additions  made  by  the  Conferences  of  187G  and  1888,  it  has 
remained  as  the  legal  basis  and  the  governing  code  of  this  great 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


309 


institution,  which  may  be  said  to  have  become  the  crowning 
glory  of  the  Church.  - 

At  the  General  Conference  of  189G  an  important  amend- 
ment was  made  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Missionary  Society, 
with  the  view  of  preventing,  as  far  as  possible,  the  incurring 
of  debts  for  the  current  work  of  the  society.  It  was  offered  by 
the  Senior  Missionary  Secretary,  A.  B.  Leonard,  as  follows: 

"The  General  Committee  shall  not  appropriate  more  for  a  given 
year  than  the  total  income  of  the  societjr  for  the  year  immediately 
preceding."    (Journal  of  General  Conference  189G,  page  304.) 

THE  MISSIONARY  BISHOPRIC. 

It  was  in  connection  with  the  society's  first  mission  in 
Liberia,  which  was  established  in  1833,  that  the  question  of  a 
Missionary  Episcopate  first  arose.  The  feebleness  of  that  enter- 
prise, its  great  distance  from  the  Methodist  center,  and  its 
climate,  which  was  supposed  to  be  almost  certainly  fatal  to 
white  men,  were  the  reasons  alleged  for  the  election  of  a  Negro 
Missionary  Bishop  for  Africa.  Bishop  Scott,  who  visited  that 
field  in  1852,  urged  a  closer  connection  with  the  mission,  by 
more  frequent  visitations  from  home;  but  the  counsels  of  the 
semi-political  party  in  the  General  Conference  of  1856  pre- 
vailed, and  the  Liberia  Conference  was  permitted  to  elect  a 
candidate,  who  should  appear  in  New  York  for  episcopal  ordi- 
nation. Accordingly,  in  1858,  Francis  Burns,  and  in  18GG  his 
successor,  John  W.  Roberts,  were  constituted  Missionary  Bishops 
for  Africa. 

In  1884,  a  vacancy  having  occurred,  the  General  Conference 
elected  William  Taylor  as  Missionary  Bishop  of  Africa. 

The  event  of  his  election  was  a  memorable  one.  No  small 
tempest  lay  on  the  Conference  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued. 
No  Negro  delegate  could  be  found  who  would  accept  the  office, 
and  it  was  not  at  all  attractive  to  white  men.  At  length,  after 
a  number  of  nominations  and  declinations  had  been  made,  the 
name  of  that  intrepid  pioneer  evangelist,  William  Taylor,  was 
mentioned.  The  effect  was  electric.  Not  a  Negro  would  go 
to  Africa;  but  here  was  a  white  man  who  was  ready  to  go  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  on  the  shortest  possible  notice.  As  a 
located  elder  his  status  was  that  of  a  layman,  and  he  sat  as  lay 
24 


370 


The  General  Conference. 


delegate  from  South  India.  But  he  was  none  the  less  a  Meth- 
odist minister,  and  might  be  made  a  Methodist  bishop.  This 
was  presently  and  joyfully  done,  whereby  the  Church  soon  came 
into  more  vital  relations  with  its  work  on  "The  Dark  Con- 
tinent.'*' 

At  the  session  of  1888  there  were  calls  from  the  missionary 
conferences  for  a  resident  Episcopacy,  both  in  Europe  and  Asia. 
Africa  had  all  the  Episcopacy  she  needed,  in  the  person  of  her 
heroic  "William  Taylor.  At  the  previous  session  this  measure 
had  failed,  and  the  same  fate  was  again  accorded  to  it.  On 
this  account  the  India  delegations  fell  back-  on  the  idea  of  a 
Missionary  Episcopate,  and  James  M.  Thoburn,  who  for  thirty 
years  had  rendered  successful  service  as  missionary  in  India, 
was,  on  their  nomination,  elected  as  Missionary  Bishop  for  India 
and  Malaysia. 

The  Church  now  had  two  classes  of  bishops,  a  state  of  things 
from  which  confusion  might  well  be  expected  to  arise.  On 
account  of  the  wonderful  success  of  the  missions  in  India  dur- 
ing the  eight  following  years,  the  questions  naturally  growing 
out  of  the  Missionary  Bishopric  were  not  made  prominent.  But 
at  the  session  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896,  at  Cleveland, 
the  subject  received  much  attention,  and  an  important  change 
was  made  in  the  Disciplinary  Chapter  on  Missionary  Bishops. 

The  chapter  in  question  opens  with  the  statement,  "A  Mis- 
sionary Bishop  is  a  Bishop/'  etc.  There  were  some  at  Cleve- 
land who  seemed  to  have  read  it,  "A  Missionary  Bishop  is  a 
missionary,"  etc.  But  the  final  action  of  the  Conference  on 
that  occasion  secured  the  recognition  of  the  full  episcopal  rank 
of  the  Missionary  Bishops,  and  at  the  same  time  provided  for 
a  quadrennial  official  visit  of  a  general  superintendent,  to  whom, 
at  such  times,  the  Missionary  Bishop  should  be  a  coadjutor. 
This  will  appear  in  the  following  quotations  from  paragraph 
181  of  the  Discipline  of  1896: 

"A  Missionary  Bishop  is  not  subordinate  to  the  general  super- 
intendents; but  is  co-ordinate  with  them  in  authority  in  the  field 
to  which  he  is  appointed."  .  .  .  "Arrangements  shall  be  made 
so  that  once  in  every  quadrennium.  and  not  oftener,  unless  a  serious 
emergency  arise,  every  mission  over  which  a  Missionary  Bishop 
has  jurisdiction  shall  be  administered  conjointly  by  the  general 
superintendents  and  the  Missionary  Bishop.    In  case  of  a  difference 


Church  Institutions  and  Societies. 


371 


of  judgment  the  existing  status  shall  continue,  unless  overruled 
by  the  general  superintendents,  who  shall  have  power  to  decide 
finally." 

Thus  the  Missionary  Bishopric,  once  in  every  quadrennium, 
is  subordinate  to  the  general  superintendency.  But  for  the 
remainder  of  the  time,  the  Missionary  Bishop  is,  like  the  general 
superintendents,  subordinate  only  to  the  General  Conference. 

At  the  same  session,  in  view  of  the  requests  for  a  full  resi- 
dent Episcopate  by  delegates  from  Japan,  China,  and  Mexico, 
a  report  was  introduced  from  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy, 
permitting  episcopal  residences  abroad.  This  action  had  already 
been  decided  by  the  Judiciary  Committee  to  be  constitutional; 
but  as  the  subject,  in  its  final  form,  did  not  appear  until  a  late 
period  in  the  session,  no  favorable  action  was  possible  at  that 
time.  The  above  fact  is  of  value  as  showing  the  trend  of 
opinion  on  this  important  question,  which  looks  to  the  unifica- 
tion of  the  episcopate,  and  thus  to  the  more  perfect  unification 
of  the  Church  and  her  world-wide  system  of  missions. 

The  action  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896  in  placing 
Bishop  Taylor  on  the  non-effective  list  was  followed  by  the 
election  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Hartzell,  D.  D.,  as  his  successor.  To  him 
Bishop  Taylor  made  over  all  the  various  missionary  funds  and 
properties  held  by  him  in  Africa  and  elsewhere,  and  straight- 
way took  ship  for  South  Africa,  to  visit  once  more  that  attractive 
Kaffirland,  in  which,  many  years  before,  some  of  his  most  suc- 
cessful evangelistic  work  had  been  performed. 

A  request  for  an  additional  Missionary  Bishop  for  India 
was  urged  at  the  Conference  of  1896;  but  it  was  not  granted. 
Thoburn  for  India  and  Malaysia,  and  Hartzell  for  Africa,  com- 
prise the  entire  missionary  episcopate  of  the  Church,  the  field 
traversed  by  each  of  them  being  larger  than  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


CHURCH  WOHK  IX  THE  SOUTH. 

r  I  ^HE  relation  of  the  General  Conference  to  the  subject  of 
slavery  has  already  been  considered.  It  now  remains  to 
treat  of  the  status  and  work  of  the  Church  in  the  south  re- 
sulting from  the  Civil  War. 

According  to  the  Plan  of  Separation  conditionally  adopted 
by  the  memorable  Conference  of  1844,  annual  conferences  in 
border  states  were  to  make  choice  of  their  positions  on  either 
the  northern  or  southern  side  of  the  proposed, boundary.  But, 
even  before  the  war,  it  was  discovered  to  be  a  very  difficult 
matter  to  separate  masses  of  Christians  according  to  their  opin- 
ions, and  at  the  same  time  to  follow  geographical  lines.  Border 
conferences  and  border  Churches  contained  members  with 
opposite  preferences,  and  no  small  contention  arose  over  the 
effort  to  carry  the  Plan  of  Separation  into  effect. 

Border  Methodism  was  never  a  unit  on  the  subject  of  slav- 
ery,  nor  on  the  division  of  the  Church;  nor  yet  on  the  division 
of  the  nation.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  the  Baltimore 
Conference  delegation  in  the  General  Conference  of  1844  which 
furnished  the  leader  of  the  attack  on  Bishop  Andrew.  It  was 
observed  that  when  a  man  in  a  slave  state  came  to  regard  slavery 
from  a  strictly  Christian  standpoint,  he  came  to  be  the  most 
determined  foe  of  the  "peculiar  institution."  Besides,  the 
Plan  of  Separation  was  acted  upon  by  the  southern  section  of 
the  Church  without  waiting  for  the  result  of  the  vote  of  the 
annual  conferences  thereon:  and  when  this  result  showed  the 
failure  of  the  plan  in  the  northern  conferences,  there  was  still 
further  room  for  dispute.  Thus  there  was  never  a  very  definite 
Methodist  dividing  line  between  the  two  sections  of  the  dis- 
rupted body,  a  state  of  things  which  invited  confusion,  and 
made  it  possible  for  even  good  men  to  cross  the  indefinite 
frontier  without  any  sense  of  wrong. 

The  Church  from  its  beginning  had  found  slavery  to  be 
a  prolific  source  of  trouble;  nor  did  the  troubles  all  disappear 

372 


Church  Work  in  the  South. 


373 


when  slavery  disappeared.  The  war  itself  had  its  religious  side, 
and  thereby  still  other  roots  of  bitterness  were  planted,  from 
which  appeared  a  plentiful  crop. 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  ENTERS  THE 

SOUTH. 

How  did  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  re-enter  the 
south? 

It  entered  through  the  doors  only  partly  closed  by  the  Plan 
of  Separation,  and  through  those  which  were  swung  wide  open 
by  the  fortunes  of  war. 

The  presence  of  northern  men  with  guns  in  their  hands 
was  bad  enough;  but  southern  Christians  could  endure  this 
affliction  as  one  of  the  inevitable  calamities  which  make  up  so 
large  a  proportion  of  human  history.  They  could  defend  their 
religion  in  battle,  while  their  fathers  and  mothers  and  wives 
and  children  prayed  for  them  at  home  and  in  the  sanctuary. 
But  when  northern  religion,  as  well  as  northern  politics,  came 
down  upon  them,  it  was  too  much  for  certain  kinds  of  flesh  and 
blood  to  bear. 

As  the  tides  of  war  swept  over  the  states  in  rebellion,  large 
numbers  of  church  edifices  were  deserted  by  their  pastors,  who 
had  laid  down  the  crosier  to  take  up  the  sword.  These  unused 
houses  of  worship  were  found  convenient  for  hospital  use,  first 
for  one  army,  and  then  for  the  other,  as  the  varying  fortunes 
of  the  great  conflict  ebbed  and  flowed.  Other  Churches,  whose 
ministers  were  past  the  military  age,  were  held  as  Confederate 
"high-places,"  where  sacrifices  to  the  pro-slavery  god  of  battles 
were  constantly  on  the  altar. 

With  the  capture  of  New  Orleans  and  its  contiguous  terri- 
tory, General  Butler  observed  that  the  prayers  of  the  southern 
clergy  were  very  effectual  in  rousing  and  sustaining  the  spirit 
of  rebellion;  and,  instead  of  leaving  the  case  to  be  prayed  out 
by  the  two  classes  of  suppliants  south  and  north,  he  undertook, 
in  a  measure,  to  settle  the  question  himself.  Accordingly,  on 
each  Lord's-day,  Union  soldiers  were  sent  to  prevent  rebellious 
preaching  and  praying  in  the  places  of  southern  worship.  But 
his  authority  fell  short  of  the  supposed  requirement  in  the  case; 
for  when  the  time  for  imploring  the  Divine  blessing  on  the 


374 


The  General  Conference. 


Confederate  arms  and  on  the  Confederate  wounded  in  the  hos- 
pitals came,  the  minister  would  call  for  a  season  of  silent  prayer. 
Thus  the  prayers  escaped  the  guard  below,  and  were  doubtless 
taken  at  full  value  above. 

Butler's  next  movement  was  to  close  some  of  the  southern 
churches;  and  these,  together  with  some  which  had  long  been 
vacant,  he  proposed  to  have  turned  over  to  the  War  Department 
at  Washington,  with  a  view  to  having  them  used  by  loyal  min- 
isters of  their  respective  denominations.  Among  these  houses 
of  worship  were  some  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  which,  by  order  of  the  War  Department  as 
above  mentioned,  were  turned  over  to  Bishop  Ames,  to  be  ad- 
ministered by  him  under  the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church.    The  order  for  this  purpose  was  as  follows: 

"War  Department, 
"Adjutant  General's  Office, 
"Washington,  November  30,  18G3. 
"To  the  Generals  commanding  the  Department  of  Missouri,  the 
Tennessee,  and  the  Gulf,  and  all  Generals  commanding  armies, 
detachments,  and  corps,  and  posts,  and  all  officers  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States  in  the  above  mentioned  Department: 
"You  are  hereby  directed  to  place  at  the  disposal  of  Rev.  Bishop 
Ames  all  houses  of  worship  belonging  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  in  which  a  loyal  minister,  who  has  been  appointed 
by  a  loyal  bishop  of  said  Church,  does  not  now  officiate. 

"It  is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the  Government,  in  its 
efforts  to  restore  tranquillity  to  the  community  and  peace  to  the 
Nation,  that  Christian  ministers  should,  by  example  and  precept, 
support  and  foster  the  loyal  sentiment  of  the  people.  Bishop  Ames 
enjoys  the  entire  confidence  of  this  Department,  and  no  doubt  is 
entertained  that  all  ministers  appointed  by  him  will  be  entirely 
loyal.  You  are  expected  to  give  him  all  the  aid,  countenance,  and 
support  practicable  in  the  execution  of  his  important  mission. 

"You  are  authorized  and  directed  to  furnish  Bishop  Ames  and 
his  clerk  with  transportation  and  subsistence  when  it  can  be  done 
without  prejudice  to  the  service,  and  will  afford  them  courtesy, 
assistance,  and  protection. 

"By  order  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 

"E.  D.  Townsend, 
"Assistant  Adjutant-General" 

Similar  authority  was  given  to  representatives  of  other  loyal 
Christian  communions,  so  that  Xorthern  Presbyterians.  Bap- 
tists, and  others  came  to  hold  possession  of  churches  in  cap- 


Church  Work  in  the  South, 


379 


tured  territory,  some  of  which  were  vacant  by  the  flight  of  the. 
pastors,  and  others  by  the  operation  of  martial  law.    Doubt  h 
there  were  more  such  instances  in  the  southern  Methodist  body 
than  in  any  other,  that  being  the  principal  denomination  in 
the  rebel  states. 

The  Rev.  J.  P.  Newman,  D.  D.,  was,  under  the  above  au- 
thority, appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  Carondclet  Street  Church 
in  New  Orleans,  the  principal  edifice  belonging  to  Methodism 
in  the  state  of  Louisiana,  if  not  in  the  whole  south.  During 
the  occupation  of  the  Crescent  City  by  the  Union  forces,  this 
came  to  be  the  great  loyal  religious  headquarters,  and  the  chief 
congregation  in  the  city. 

The  holding  of  Christian  sanctuaries  as  trophies  of  war  is 
no  new  thing.  Colonial  churches  were  thus  held  and  used  by 
British  troops  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution.  But  when  north- 
ern Methodists,  by  military  authority,  possessed  themselves  of 
the  property  of  their  former  brethren,  an  estrangement  between 
the  two  sections  of  the  once  united  Church  was  produced,  more 
bitter  even  than  that  produced  by  the  war  itself.  There  were 
numbers  of  Negro  churches  also,  which,  by  the  ready  concur- 
rence of  their  congregations,  came  under  the  authority  of 
Bishop  Ames. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  all  the  southern  white  congrega- 
tions came  again  into  possession  of  their  churches;  but  the 
Negro  churches,  built  largely  by  the  money  of  the  slave- 
masters,  were  still  retained  under  the  authority  of  the  General 
Conference  as  represented  by  Bishop  Simpson  and  Bishop  Ames, 
both  of  whom  took  an  active  part  in  the  administration  of  this 
delicate  business.  White  Union  Methodists  having  now  no 
place  of  worship  in  New  Orleans,  Ames  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  erected,  and  here  Dr.  Newman,  and  following  him 
Dr.  Hartzell,  held  the  fort  for  loyalty  to  the  Nation,  as  well  as 
for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

The  men  with  guns  in  their  hands  at  length  disappeared 
from  the  south;  but  there  were  Methodist  preachers,  with  the 
Discipline  of  the  old-time  Church  in  their  hands,  who  had 
come  to  stay.  After  the  war  the  Union  Methodists  in  the 
.  southern  Church  left  that  Communion,  and  joined  the  congre- 
gations of  these  northern  ministers;  so  that  within  a  single  gen- 


376 


The  General  Conference. 


eration  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  counting  both  white 
and  colored  people,  had  one-fifth  of  its  entire  membership  in 
the  territory  once  occupied  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South. 

The  General  Conference,  which  had  proceeded  on  the  as- 
sumption that  a  Xegro  might  be  as  good  a  Christian  as  any 
other  man,  now  advanced  a  step,  and  after  emancipation  took 
the  ground  that  a  Xegro  was  as  free  as  any  other  man.  Beyond 
this  that  body  was  not  prepared  to  go.  Xor  was  it  needful. 
All  the  good  that  could  be  done  to  and  for  the  Freedman 
could  be  done  for  him  on  that  basis.  But  it  could  not  be 
expected  that  southern  white  Unionists  and  southern  colored 
Unionists  would  fraternize,  even  in  a  Church  politically  con- 
genial to  both.  The  Xegroes  were  gloriously  conscious  that  they 
were  slaves  no  longer,  and  the  whites,  particularly  the  "poor 
whites/5  felt  the  vital  importance  of  maintaining  their  superior- 
ity of  blood.  Add  to  this  the  old  war  spirit,  buried  before  it 
was  dead,  and  it  would  appear  that  the  Great  Council  had  a 
problem  on  its  hands  the  most  difficult  of  any  since  the  Chris- 
tian Era  began. 

THE  FEEEDMEN'S  AID  SOCIETY. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1866,  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati,  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
organized.  Its  first  president  was  Bishop  Davis  W.  Clark.  Its 
first  corresponding  secretary  was  Dr.  John  M.  TValden.  Its 
first  general  field  superintendent  was  Rev.  Richard  S.  Rust, 
D.  D. 

The  importance  of  the  work  proposed  by  this  societ}r,  as 
indicated  by  its  name,  was  at  once  recognized  by  the  Church. 
The  General  Conference  of  1868  commended  it,  and  the  session 
of  1872  adopted  it  as  a  regular  Church  society.  This  was  the 
hand  of  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  reached  out  and  down  into  the  old  slave  land,  to  lift 
and  guide  the  millions  of  "boys" — as  male  slaves  were  com- 
monly called  in  the  south — who  had  suddenly  been  thrust  into 
the  places  and  responsibilities  of  men. 

It  had  been  a  part  of  the  worldly  wisdom  of  the  south  to 
prevent  the  education  of  slaves.    Learning  would  make  them 


Church  Work  in  the  South, 


.">77 


"impudent"  and  dangerous.  But  just  this  danger-inviting  pol- 
icy was  now  to  be  carried  out  by  the  accredited  representatives 
of  northern  Churches  all  over  the  great  southland,  still  smok- 
ing with  the  fires  of  civil  war.  If  anything  could  blow  these 
hot  embers  into  flame  it  was  the  work  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid 
Society  and  other  similar  "incendiary"  propaganda  on  the  basis 
of  the  detested  Emancipation  Proclamation.  The  fires  did  in 
many  places  blaze  up  again;  but  the  preachers  and  teachers  went 
on  with  their  work.  Southern  Methodists  "ostracized"  them. 
This  did  them  no  harm.  Then  certain  rude  fellows  of  the  baser 
sort  persecuted  them.  This  strengthened  their  patience.  Fi- 
nally assassins  were  set  to  murder  some  of  them,  and  large 
numbers  of  their  Negro  pupils  as  well.  Thus  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  Society  and  its  wards  furnished  some  companies  of  recruits 
for  "the  noble  army  of  martyrs."    But  still  the  worlc  went  on. 

There  is  another  fact  underlying  this  constant  miracle, 
which  ought  to  be  set  forth  in  this  connection;  viz.,  the  patience, 
good  faith,  and  good  nature  of  the  Negro  race.  The  "boys" 
had  made  a  reputation;  had  won  a  character.  Southern  white 
men,  who  had  safely  trusted  their  homes  and  their  plantations  * 
to  their  slaves  while  they  were  away  fighting  to  perpetuate  their 
slavery,  could  the  more  easily  trust  the  ex-slaves  with  spelling- 
books  and  Bibles. 

THE  COLOR  LINE,  17G6-189G. 

From  the  first  the  status  of  the  Negro  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  been  the  highest  which  he  has  anywhere 
reached.  Under  the  administry  of  Asbury  and  the  other  early 
"helpers"  and  "assistants"  of  Wesley  in  America,  all  of  whom 
were  Englishmen,  the  slave  was  reckoned  as  a  man,  who  had 
a  soul  to  be  saved.  It  thus  appears  to  have  been  a  part  of  the 
purpose  of  Divine  Providence,  for  the  especial  benefit  of  the 
Negro  race,  that  Methodism  should  be  of  foreign  importation, 
and  not  an  indigenous  growth  on  American  soil.  A  Church 
having  its  beginning  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  or  the  Carolinas 
would  have  partaken  of  and  been  colored  by  "the  peculiar  in- 
stitution," even  if,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Confederacy,  slavery 
had  not  been  "its  chief  cornerstone." 

Think  of  a  bishop  who,  when  he  is  ill,  sends  his  Negro 


378 


The  General  Conference. 


servant  into  the  pulpit  to  preach  for  him!  What  white  bishop 
in  any  other  Church  ever  did  such  a  thing? 

If  it  be  said  that  no  other  white  bishop  ever  had  a  Xegro 
servant  who  could  preach  as  well  as  Black  Harry,  the  reply  at 
once  suggests  itself:  TTesleyan  Methodism,  as  established  in 
America,  was  the  school  in  which  this  African  Apollos  was 
trained.  In  that  age  of  the  world  there  was  no  other  theolog- 
ical seminary  which  received  and  sent  out  such  pupils.  Xor 
was  this  an  exceptional  case.  The  General  Conference,  which 
had  long  before  provided  for  the  licensing  of  colored  preachers, 
did,  in  1824,  enact: 

"That  our  colored  preachers  and  official  members  have  all  the 
privileges  in  the  district  and  quarterly  meeting  conferences  which 
the  usages  of  the  country  in  different  sections  will  justify;  Provided, 
also  that  the  presiding  elder  may,  when  there  is  a  sufficient  number, 
hold  for  them  a  separate  district  conference." 

Thus  the  ministerial  status  of  Methodist  slaves,  who  were 
local  preachers,  was  recognized  by  the  highest  authority  in 
the  Church. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  in  these  pages  that  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  membership  of  the  early  Methodist  "soci- 
eties" was  composed  of  slaves.  Master  and  servant,  under 
these  auspices,  met  and  sung  and  prayed  and  shouted  together, 
the  last  named  function,  indeed,  being  chiefly  performed  by 
the  colored  members.  If  there  was  a  class-meeting  held  in 
the  parlor  by  the  bishop  or  one  of  his  preachers,  there  was  also 
a  class-meeting  in  the  kitchen.  If  any  one  objects  to  this  ar- 
rangement as  being  defiled  by  the  caste  spirit,  it  may  be  mourn- 
fully confessed  that  nowhere  this  side  of  heaven  was  there  ever 
found  a  Church  which  had  religion  enough  to  abolish  the  dis- 
tinction between  parlor  and  kitchen. 

It  may  be  matter  of  surprise  to  some  extreme  radicals  to 
learn  that  the  "color  line,''  which  has  given  so  much  trouble 
in  General  Conference  legislation,  was  first  drawn  by  a  congre- 
gation of  colored  Methodists  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in 
the  year  1794.  At  this  date  there  was  some  dissatisfaction 
among  the  ^Negroes  who  worshiped  along  with  the  white  people 


Churc/t  Wovk  in  the  South. 


379 


at  "Old  St.  George's."  This  resulted  in  their  purchasing  a  black- 
smith's shop,  and  fitting  it  up  as  a  place  of  worship  for  them- 
selves. When  it  was  ready  for  its  new  use  it  was  dedicated 
by  Bishop  Asbury,  on  the  29th  of  June,  1794. 

On  this  occasion  they  adopted  a  platform,  or  declaration  of 
principles,  which  document  contained  the  following  provision: 

"We  consider  every  child  of  God  a  member  of  the  mystical  body 
of  Christ.  .  .  .  Yet  in  the  political  government  of  our  Church 
we  prohibit  our  white  brethren  from  electing,  or  being  elected  Into, 
any  office  among  us  save  that  of  a  preacher  or  public  speaker." 
(Simpson's  "Cyclopedia  of  Methodism,"  page  15.) 

The  leader  in  this  movement  for  separation  on  the  color 
line  was  Richard  Allen,  the  first  Negro  ever  ordained  to  the 
ministry  in  America,  if  not  in  the  world.  That  he  did  not  at 
first  contemplate  the  establishment  of  a  separate  sect  of  Meth- 
odists is  evident  from  the  fact  that  Bishop  Asbury  performed 
this  ordination  in  the  year  1799.  By  this  time  he  had  achieved 
the  position  of  a  widely-recognized  leader  among  the  people  of 
color  in  the  membership  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

It  is  significant  that  Asbury,  who  had  a  horror  of  schisms, 
should  have  given  this  double  sanction  to  this  departure  from 
the  universally  prevalent  custom  of  mixed  congregations  in 
Methodist  Churches.  His  hatred  of  slavery,  his  love  for  the 
slave,  and  his  English  leaning  towards  immediate  emancipation, 
are  beyond  question.  But  his  name  and  fame  stand  inseparably 
connected  with  the  first  recorded  movement  for  separation  of 
white  and  black  Methodists  on  "the  color  line." 

The  practical  wisdom  of  this  division  may  be  disputed, 
since  it  was  the  beginning  of  that  first  great  departure  of  col- 
ored members  from  the  original  Methodist  body  in  the  year 
1820,  under  the  name  of  "The  African  Methodist  ,Episcopal 
Church."  Four  years  later  there  was  another  separation  on 
the  color  line  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  seceding  colored 
flock  taking  the  name  of  "The  African  Methodist  Episcopal 
Zion  Church."  The  "Zion"  in  its  name  was  in  honor  of  the 
principal  Church  and  congregation  in  the  new  Connection. 

Both  of  these  voluntary  departures  from  the  fellowship  of 


380 


The  General  Conference. 


original  American  Methodism  so  far  gave  proof  of  their  grateful 
memory  of  their  mother  Church,  as  to  establish  themselves  on 
the  basis  of  her  Discipline.  Both  came  to  be  large  Communions, 
even  before  the  war,  and  at  its  close  they  contained  no  less 
than  twenty-seven  annual  conferences  and  about  two  hundred 
thousand  members,  their  work  covering  most  of  the  territory 
of  the  border  states,  and  extending  far  into  the  south. 

These  independent  Episcopal  colored  Methodist  Churches 
were  an  embarrassment  to  the  General  Conference  of  the  mother 
Church.  They  were  ambitious,  fond  of  offices  and  titles,  and 
were  able  to  create  and  confer  these  distinctions  on  their  own 
people  with  a  liberal  hand.  But  the  mother  Church  objected 
to  lifting  its  colored  members  into  places  which  they  were  not 
qualified  to  fill.  In  the  first  separate  colored  Churches  in- 
cluded in  white  annual  conferences  the  color-line  was  always 
drawn.  The  Negro  pastors  were  only  local  preachers,  and 
against  the  names  of  their  charges,  as  they  appeared  in  the 
Conference  Minutes,  were  the  words,  "Left  to  be  supplied." 
Thus  while  white  preachers  held  appointment  from  the  bishop, 
colored  preachers  held  appointment  from  the  presiding  elder. 

As  early  as  1844  this  inequality  was  the  cause  of  complaint, 
and  at  the  Conference  of  that  year  a  petition  for  the  redress 
of  this  grievance  was  presented.  The  colored  pastors  asked  to 
be  admitted  as  members  into  the  annual  conferences  within  the 
bounds  of  which  they  were  regularly  employed.  This  request 
the  Conference  refused. 

At  this  distance  of  time  it  would  appear  that  there  must 
have  been  some  shallow  places  in  the  abolition  sentiment  of 
that  memorable  assembly.  It  was  easy  for  a  radical  majority 
to  suspend  a  southern  bishop  on  account  of  a  constructive  con- 
nection with  slavery;  but  that  same  majority  was  not  equal  to 
the  task  of  opening  the  doors  of  its  annual  conferences  for  the 
admission  of  a  northern  Negro  preacher.  So  slow,  even  at  the 
north,  was  the  growth  of  the  sentiment  that  even  free  Negroes 
were  to  be  admitted  on  the  same  terms  as  white  men  to  the 
higher  honors  of  the  Church. 

But  the  war  was  a  schoolmaster  to  north  as  well  as  south, 
and  the  General  Conference  of  1864,  Avhile  the  din  of  battle 


Church  Work  in  tlie  South. 


Ml 


was  still  sounding  in  their  ears,  provided  for  the  establishment 
of  two  colored  annual  conferences;  to  wit,  the  Washington 
Conference  and  the  Delaware  Conference,  and  also  passed  the 
following  resolution: 

"Resolved,  That  justice  to  those  who  have  been  enslaved  requires 
that,  in  all  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  as  well  as  in  all  other  rights 
of  a  common  manhood,  there  shall  be  no  distinction  founded  on 
color." 

Thus  thereafter  a  Negro  might  be  a  "regular"  Methodist 
preacher.  And,  further,  as  if  to  make  amends  for  the  slowness 
of  the  Conference  in  granting  these  men  their  rights,  the  Dis- 
cipline was  so  far  amended,  or  suspended,  on  their  behalf,  that 
they  were  excused  from  the  required  examinations  in  the  courses 
of  study  laid  down  for  (white)  candidates  for  the  ministry. 
(Journal  General  Conference  1864,  page  263.)  Under  this  mer- 
ciful provision,  Bishops  Simpson  and  Ames,  at  the  first  sessions 
of  these  Negro  conferences,  ordained  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  about  eighty  men  of  color,  some  of 
whom  were  not  even  able  to  read. 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  General  Conference,  and  of  its 
official  representative  in  the  south — the  Freedmen's  Aid  Soci- 
ety— to  lead  its  wards  and  pupils  as  fast  and  as  far  as  possible 
away  from  the  old  slave  life.  Hence  they  were  encouraged  to 
claim  all  their  rights,  both  in  Church  and  state.  As  a  result 
of  such  encouragement,  the  nine  mixed  conferences  sent  white 
delegates  to  the  General  Conference  of  1868,  and  the  two  colored 
conferences,  Washington  and  Delaware,  sent  each  its  Negro 
representative.  The  appearance  of  these  colored  delegates,  and 
of  the  men  who  represented  colored  constituencies,  produced 
no  little  excitement.  Chicago  Methodism,  as  well  as  General 
Conference  Methodism,  was  stirred  to  its  depths.  Eadicals 
shouted  and  conservatives  groaned  over  the  proposed  innova- 
tion. But  the  great  majority  of  the  body  was  in  favor  of  seating 
the  Negro  and  pro-Negro  delegations,  and  a  resolution  to  that 
effect  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  197  yeas  and  15  nays.  Thus 
through  wide-open  gates  the  colored  ministry  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  entered  into  its  "Governing  Conference." 


382 


The  General  Conference. 


THE  COLORED  BISHOP  QUESTION. 

The  next  step  upward  for  the  rapidly-rising  race  was  to  be 
attended  with  greater  difficulty. 

The  election  of  a  Negro  to  the  bishopric  was  no  new  thing. 
Bishop  Burns  and  Bishop  Roberts  were  Africans.  But  their 
diocese  was  in  Africa.  If  the  Freedman  was  to  be  like  a  white 
man,  why  should  he  not  aspire  to  the  highest  office  in  his 
Church?  Both  of  the  Xegro  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches 
which  had  set  up  for  themselves  had  a  Board  of  Bishops  of  their 
own,  a  fact  which  was  no  small  attraction  to  draw  ambitious 
and  talented  young  students  away  from  service  in  the  mother 
Church. 

Besides,  the  Xegro  was  growing  stronger  in  the  General 
Conference.  At  the  session  of  1880,  held  in  Cincinnati,  the 
sixteen  mixed  and  colored  conferences  on  the  border  and  in 
the  south  were  represented  by  sixty-seven  delegates,  thirty-two 
of  whom  were  colored  men.  And  now  the  Xegroes  and  their 
friends  resolved  to  make  an  effort  towards  securing  a  representa- 
tive of  the  Xegro  race  on  the  Episcopal  Board.  Their  numerous 
memorials  with  this  intent  were  duly  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Episcopacy,  which  committee,  on  the  20th  of  May,  reported 
as  follows: 

"Resolved  1.  That  the  best  interests  of  the  Church,  and  of  our 
colored  people  in  particular,  require  that  one  or  more  of  our  general 
superintendents  should  be  of  African  descent. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  we  recommend  that  this  General  Conference 
elect  one  bishop  of  African  descent." 

In  the  great  debate  on  this  question  the  oratorical  honors 
were  borne  off  by  a  colored  delegate,  Rev.  Edward  W.  S.  Ham- 
mond, of  the  Lexington  Conference.  Xotwithstanding  the 
embarrassment  of  a  manuscript,  the  speech  produced  a  mar- 
velous effect.  At  its  close  there  was  such  a  demonstration  as 
was  probably  never  seen  in  that  grave  and  reverend  body  before 
or  since.  Some  superstitious  people  even  hinted  that  the  elo- 
quence was  supernatural.  Under  its  influence  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  find,  if  possible,  a  suitable  candidate  for  the 
office  of  bishop  who  was  "of  African  descent."  But  at  this 
point  the  movement  stopped.   Even  the  colored  delegates  them- 


Church  Work  in  the  South. 


383 


selves  confessed  that  they  had  no  man  among  them  who  bad 
reached  so  high  a  grade.  A  minority  report  was  also  brought 
in  from  the  Committee  on  Episcopacy,  opposing  the  election  of 
any  more  bishops  at  that  session.  Among  other  signatures  to 
this  document  was  that  of  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  than  whom  the 
Negro  never  had  a  truer  friend. 

The  final  result — for  that  session — was  the  indefinite  post- 
ponement of  the  whole  subject,  which  was  moved  by  John 
Lanahan,  and  carried  by  a  vote  of  228  yeas  against  137  nays. 
But  in  a  sense  it  was  a  triumph  for  the  Negro  after  all.  No 
white  man  ever  won  such  an  ovation  or  such  a  vote  by  a  twenty- 
minute  speech  on  the  General  Conference  floor. 

At  the  session  of  1896  another  series  of  events  occurred, 
which  showed  that  the  Church  was  not  unmindful  of  its  colored 
members,  and  that  in  the  matter  of  official  station  they  were 
to  be  treated  on  the  basis  of  "the  most  favored  nation."  Even 
the  much  deplored  "caste"  distinction  sometimes  works  in  their 
favor,  and  the  fact  that  in  the  south  "the  blacks  are  becoming 
blacker  and  the  whites  whiter,"  is  manifestly  to  the  honor  and 
advantages  of  both  races. 

It  has  been  recorded  that  at  the  Conference  of  1880  no 
colored  man  could  be  found  who,  even  in  the  estimation  of  his 
own  people,  was  qualified  for  the  office  of  bishop  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  though  there  were  many  who  could  fill 
the  episcopal  chair  in  either  of  the  colored  Communions.  That 
fact  was  accepted  by  the  Negroes,  not  as  a  discouragement,  but 
as  a  call  for  further  patience  and  larger  mental  growth.  Some 
kinds  of  bishops  can  be  raised  in  a  short  season;  but  this  hind 
requires  a  longer  time.  . 

At  length,  after  sixteen  years,  at  the  General  Conference  of 
1896  the  long  looked-for  colored  candidate  for  bishop  appeared, 
in  the  person  of  Eev.  John  W.  E.  Bowen,  formerly  field  agent 
of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society.  At 
the  time  of  his  election  to  the  General  Conference  as  a  delegate 
from  the  Washington  (colored)  Conference,  he  held  the  chair 
of  Historic  Theology  in  the  Gammon  Theological  Seminary,  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia.  He  is  a  full-blooded  Negro,  was  a  graduate 
of  the  New  Orleans  University  (colored),  and  of  the  Boston 
School  of  Theology  (cosmopolitan). 


384 


The  General  Conference. 


His  fitness  for  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  Church 
was  conceded,  and  on  the  first  ballot  for  bishops  he  led  the 
poll,  having  received  145  votes.  The  next  highest  number  was 
141.  On  the  second  ballot  his  vote  rose  to  175.  But  who  could 
successfully  contend  with  McCabe  and  Cranston?  Such  a  vote, 
with  such  competitors  on  his  first  appearance  as  a  candidate, 
was  an  honor,  for  which  this  patient  and  faithful  race  did  well 
-  to  wait  from  1880  to  1896. 

But  it  was  not  all  waiting.  Winning  was  also  decreed  for 
them. 

On  the  promotion  of  Secretary  Hartzell  to  the  chair  of 
Missionary  Bishop  for  Africa,  the  Rev.  Madison  C.  B.  Mason, 
a  colored  man,  field  agent  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society,  was 
advanced  to  the  position  of  secretary.  All  this  was  glory  enough 
for  one  session  of  the  Great  Council.  Henceforth  the  doors 
of  all  high  places  in  the  Church  are  understood  to  be  on  the 
latch  to  whatever  man,  of  whatever  race,  shall  prove  himself 
able  to  swing  them  open. 

Thus  the  policy  of  the  General  Conference  appears  to  be 
successful.  "Wisdom  is  justified  of  her  children."  To  Ne- 
groes, as  such,  God  seems  to  have  said,  as  'he  said  to  Jacob 
ages  ago,  "I  will  bless  him  that  blesseth  you,  and  curse  him 
that  curseth  you."  In  the  light  of  history,  both  ancient  and 
modern,  the  Church  does  well  to  say,  "We  will  not  join  to- 
gether what  God  has  put  asunder. 

A  NEW  NAME  AND  A  NEW  DEPARTURE  FOR  THE  FREED- 
MEN'S  AID  SOCIETY. 

With  a  brief  account  of  the  new  departure  of  this  right 
arm  of  the  Church  in  the  South,  a  portion  of  which  must 
be  retrospective,  this  chapter  may  appropriately  close. 

In  the  report  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1880,  signed  by  Bishop  I.  W.  Wiley,  President, 
and  J.  M.  Walden,  Secretary,  the  following  statement  occurs: 

"One  of  the  schools  for  white  pupils  in  the  South,  in  an  em- 
barrassed condition  having  sought  aid  in  vain  from  other  institu- 
tions of  the  Church,  appealed  to  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  for 
relief;  and,  to  protect  it  from  the  sheriff,  our  society  paid  the  debt 
and  saved  the  school." 


Church  Work  in  the  South. 


885 


At  once  the  question  arose:  By  what  authority  doest  thou 
these  things?  To  which  the  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers, John  M.  Walden,  replied  by  citing  a  phrase  in  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Society,  as  he  himself  had  drawn  it  up,  and 
as  the  General  Conference  of  1872  had  adopted  it.  The  pres- 
ence of  two  words — "and  others" — in  Article  II  of  this  Con- 
stitution, which  phrase  had  generally  been  understood  as  re- 
ferring to  colored  people  who  had  never  been  in  slavery,  was, 
by  Dr.  Walden,  declared  to  signify  white  people  in  the  south, 
who  might  be  in  need  of  similar  "aid"  to  that  required  by 
freedmen.  The  first  two  articles  in  the  above-mentioned 
Constitution  are  as  follows: 

"Art.  I.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"Art.  II.  Its  object  shall  be  to  labor  for  the  relief  and  education 
of  Freedmen  and  others,  especially  in  co-operation  with  the  Mis- 
sionary and  Church  Extension  Societies  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  (Report  of  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Soci- 
ety 1894,  page  37.) 

On  the  20th  of  May  the  Committee  on  the  Freedmen's 
Aid  Society  brought  in  a  report  in  which  the  following  rec- 
ommendations occur: 

"Your  Committee  on  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Work  re- 
spectfully report: 

"1.  That,  in  its  judgment,  the  present  organization  of  the  Freed- 
men's Aid  Society  should  remain  unchanged. 

"2.  That  under  the  phrase,  "and  others,"  of  Article  II  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  we  see  the  way  clear  to 
aid  the  schools  which  have  been  established  by  our  Church  in  the 
southern  states  among  the  white  people;  and  hereby  ask  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  to  recommend  to  the  Board  of  Managers  of  this 
society  to  give  such  aid  to  these  schools  during  the  next  quadren- 
nium  as  can  be  done  without  embarrassment  to  the  schools  among 
the  Freedmen.  (Signed,)  J.  P.  Newman,  Chairman."  (Journal 
1880,  page  293.) 

The  debate  over  this  proposed  new  departure  of  the  Society 
was  as  able  as  it  was  important.  After  a  brief  statement  by  Dr. 
Newman,  a  substitute  for  the  second  clause  in  the  above  re- 
port was  moved  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Spence,  of  the  Holston  Confer- 
ence, president  of  the  East  Tennessee  Wesleyan  University 
(white)  at  Athens,  Tenn.  This  substitute  proposed:  first,  to 
25 


386 


The  General  Conference. 


place  the  colored  and  white  work  of  the  Society  "on  a  similar 
basis;"  second,  to  set  forth  this  fact  in  all  the  Churches  where 
collections  were  taken;  and,  third,  to  direct  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers of  the  Society  to  disburse  twenty-five  per  cent  of  all 
moneys  thus  raised  in  aiding  white  Methodist  Episcopal 
schools  in  the  South.  Although  this  substitute  was  laid  on 
the  table,  it  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  extent  to  which  that 
class  of  white  Methodists  in  the  South  under  our  jurisdiction 
expected  to  profit  by  the  funds  of  this  Society,  under  the  new 
interpretation  of  Article  II. 

The  debate  over  this  proposed  new  departure  was  as  able 
as  it  was  important.  .  Dr.  Spence,  in  a  lengthy  speech,  as- 
sumed that,  in  view  of  the  phrase,  "and  others,"  in  the  Con- 
stitution, which  was  then  for  the  first  time  heard  of  on  the 
General  Conference  floor,  or  in  any  other  public  place,  the 
whites  of  the  south  had  actually  been  wronged  out  of  their 
just  dues.  He  deprecated  the  "class"  idea  in  the  policy  of 
the  Society,  which  discriminated  against  white  schools,  and 
in  favor  of  colored  schools.  There  were  19  colored  schools, 
with  2,510  students  under  the  care  of  the  Society,  on  which 
it  had  expended  about  a  million  of  dollars.  In  the  same  ter- 
ritory there  were  11  white  schools,  with  1,400  students,  to 
which  the  Society  had  given  nothing.  Against  this  favoritism 
his  people  had  said  little.  But  now  he  wished  to  know  whether 
this  systematic  "class  distinction"  was  to  be  perpetual, 
Could  the  white  schools  be  recognized  and  aided  by  this  So- 
ciety, or  could  they  not? 

This  assumption  of  the  existence  of  a  long-neglected  claim 
against  the  Freedmen's  Aid  Society  in  favor  of  the  white 
schools  in  the  South,  from  which  Negro  pupils  were  rigidly 
excluded,  produced  no  small  resentment;  and  Eev.  John 
Lanahan,  already  one  of  the  veteran  members  of  the  House, 
after  a  sharp  denial  of  the  claim,  moved  to  lay  the  Spence 
substitute  on  the  table,  which  was  done. 

The  question  then  recurred  on  the  adoption  of  the  report 
of  the  committee.  The  first  speaker  in  opposition  to  the  re- 
port was  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Key,  a  colored  delegate  from  the 
Tennessee  Conference,  who  said,  among  other  things: 

"I  have  no  objection  to  the  education  of  white  people  in 


Church  Work  in  the  South. 


387 


the  South,  but  1  do  not  wish  to  have  it  done  at  our  expense." 
The  applause  called  out  by  this  remark  showed  the  prevail- 
ing temper  of  the  body. 

Dr.  Curry  followed  with  a  strong  speech  against  the  re- 
port, concluding  with  these  words: 

"To  collect  funds  for  the  Freedmen,  and  then  to  give  equally  of 
these  moneys  to  the  whites,  is  a  misappropriation  of  trust  funds." 

He  was  followed  by  that  staunch  and  generous  friend  of 
the  freedmen,  Amos  Shinkle,  who,  on  behalf  of  the  Board 
of  Management,  stated  that  the  Society  was  in  debt  and  had 
no  funds  available  for  the  new  work  proposed. 

But  Dr.  Walden  took  up  the  cause  of  the  whites.  He 
gave  a  history  of  the  way  in  which  the  phrase  "and  others" 
came  to  have  place  in  Article  II  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
Society;  he  having  been  a  member  of  the  Committee  by  which 
it  was  drafted.  Indeed,  as  afterwards  transpired,  the  document 
was  written  by  his  own  hand.  He  affirmed  that  the  phrase  in 
question  was  inserted  with  special  reference  to  possible  fu- 
ture work  of  the  Society  among  the  white  people  of  the 
south.  He  did  not  believe,  as  had  been  suggested,  that  the 
knowledge  of  this  proposed  new  feature  in  the  mission  of  the 
Freedmen's  Aid  Society  would  lessen,  but  rather  increase  the 
collections  for  its  support.  In  his  business-like  and  "carrying" 
way  he  gave  a  broader  view  of  the  duty  of  northern  Meth- 
odism to  its  co-religionists  in  the  south  than  that  which 
was  suggested  by  the  name  of  the  Society,  and,  on  a  plane 
of  "Malice  towards  none  and  charity  for  all/'  urged  the  adop- 
tion of  the  report. 

This  speech  settled  the  question.  The  report  was  adopted 
without  a  call  for  the  yeas  and  nays,  and  even  without  a  count 
vote. 

That  this  measure  was  in  advance  of  the  sentiment  of 
the  Church  no  one  can  reasonably  doubt.  But  it  was  a  com- 
promise. In  order  to  save  the  rivalry  incident  to  the  pres- 
ence of  two  Southern  Aid  Societies,  pressing  their  claims 
throughout  the  Connection,  as  well  as  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
moneys  were  sometimes  received  by  the  Freedmen's  Aid  So- 
ciety, specially  designated  "For  the  aid  of  the  southern  whites," 


388 


The  General  Confereaoe. 


this  change  was  reluctantly-  made.  There  were  many  who 
feared  that  this  division  of  the  funds  would  lessen  the  income 
of  the  Society  ;  but  Secretary  Walden  predicted  the  opposite 
effect.    And  the  event,  in  part,  justified  his  prediction. 

At  the  Conference  of  1888  the  name  of  the  Society  was 
changed  to  conform  to  the  change  in  its  proceedings,  and  be- 
came "The  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Education  Society." 

In  the  Discipline  put  forth  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1896,  paragraph  403  is  as  follows: 

"The  work  of  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  Southern  Educa- 
tion Society  shall  be  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of 
institutions  for  Christian  education  in  the  southern  states 
among  both  colored  and  white  people." 

Thus  the  "equal  recognition"  demanded  at  the  session  of 
1880  has  been  obtained,  but  the  "color  line"  has  not  been 
effaced.  "Caste"  is  still  the  unwritten  law  in  the  Southern 
section  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and  in  the  local 
administration  of  its  chief  official  representative. 

But  "caste"  is  a  different  word  since  it  came  to  be  com- 
plained of  by  southern  whites  as  against  southern  Negro 
schools.  To  be  despised  by  white  people  was  nothing  new 
to  the  people  of  color.  They  had  been  accustomed  to  it.  But 
to  be  envied  by  white  people! — that  was  indeed  startling.  To 
be  robbed  by  the  superior  race  was  quite  a  matter  of  course. 
They  had  always  been  accustomed  to  that.  But  to  be  envied 
by  white  men!  To  have  white  delegates  come  to  the  General 
Conference,  and  make  public  complaint  that  Negro  schools 
were  treated  as  a  superior  "class!"  This  was  startling,  indeed. 
The  tables  had  been  turned.  It  was  the  Negro  race  who,  in 
diplomatic  phrase,  was  treated  as  "the  most  favored  nation." 

In  this  connection  it  is  especially  to  be  noticed  that,  al- 
though the  General  Conference  has  followed  the  providential 
trend  of  events  in  its  training  and  use  of  colored  ministers, 
it  has  never  placed  a  bar  in  the  way  of  their  advancement  to 
any  office  or  honor  in  the  gift  or  service  of  the  Church.  It 
has,  as  above  set  forth,  given  them  easier  access  to  such  po- 
sitions "on  account  of  race,  color,  and  previous  condition  of 
servitude." 

Again,  while  the  General  Conference  has  not  attempted  to 


Chwroft  Work  in  the  South. 


389 


regulate  the  local  affairs  of  Churches  and  schools  so  as  to 
require  the  admission  of  both  white  and  colored  persons  into 
all  the  institutions  under  its  control,  on  the  other  hand  it 
has  never  passed  an  act  or  made  a  regulation  by  which  any 
person  is  excluded  from  any  Church  or  school  on  account  of 
race,  color,  or  previous  condition.  That  such  exclusions  have 
been  made  can  not  be  reckoned  as  an  unmixed  evil.  Tho 
African  race  in  America  has  had  the  instinct  of  separation. 
The  vast  majority  thereof  have  preferred  to  worship  and 
study  in  churches  and  schools  of  their  own;  and  in  both  of 
these  the  Negro  has  given  the  best  account  of  himself. 

The  division  of  money  by  the  Freedmen's  Aid  and  South- 
ern Education  Society  between  the  two  classes  of  its  bene- 
ficiaries has  been  about  in  the  proportion  of  four  to  one  in 
favor  of  the  original  claimants.  The  following  figures  from 
the  latest  report  of  the  Society  will  show,  in  part,  the  extent 
and  the  direction  of  its  success.  They  are,  for  the  year  ending 
June  30,  1894: 

"Membership  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  sixteen 
southern  states  and  District  of  Columbia: 

White   292,466 

Colored   254,937 


Total  

Church  property  in  above: 

Whites  

Colored   

Total   

School  property  in  above: 

Whites   

Colored   


. . .  .547,403 

$11,119,344 
3,697,300 

$14,816,644 

.$1,514,487 
.  1,491,000 


Total 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  CONSTITUTION. 

r  I  ^HE  history  of  Methodist  legislation,  so  far  as  the  organic 
structure  of  the  Church  is  concerned,  has  nowhere  been 
given  in  complete,  compact,  and  accessible  form.  To  supply 
this  important  requisite,  the  following  chapter  has  been  com- 
piled: 

DEFINITIONS. 

The  commonly-accepted  definition  of  the  word  "Consti- 
tution" is,  "A  written  form  of  organic  law."  In  view  of  the 
absence  of  anything  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  which 
would  answer  to  this  description,  three  peculiar  definitions  of 
the  term  have  come  into  use. 

I.  The  first  of  these  occurs  in  the  first  London  edition 
of  the  Minutes  of  the  American  Conference  or  Convention 
of  1784.  In  place  of  a  proper  title  page,  the  following  note 
appears  at  the  top  of  the  first  reading  page: 

"The  General  Minutes  of  the  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  America,  forming  the  Constitution  of 
the  said  Church."    (Nutter's  reprint  of  Minutes  of  1784,  p.  1.) 

A  similar  use  of  the  word  is  found  in  the  heading  of 
Section  III  of  a  later  edition  of  the  same  book,  which  reads: 
"On  the  Nature  and  Constitution  of  our  Church."  The  sec- 
tion thus  named  treats  of  the  departure  of  the  American 
Methodists  from  the  Church  of  England,  and  announces  the 
formation  of  an  "independent  Church,"  "with  an  episcopal 
form  of  government,  etc."  (Nutter's  third  edition  of  Minutes 
of  Christmas  Conference,  p.  5.) 

In  like  manner  Sherman,  in  his  History  of  the  Discipline, 
uses  the  word  as  equivalent  to  the  whole  product  of  formative 
legislation,  thus: 

"The  Discipline  provided  in  1784  was  designed  to  serve  as  a 
Constitution,  to  be  supplemented  by  such  statutory  provisions  from 
time  to  time  as  the  Conference  might  find  necessary.  In  this  irregu- 
lar way  the  Church  continued  to  legislate  until  the  establishment  of 
the  General  Conference  in  1792."    ( '"History  of  Discipline,"  page  27.) 

390 


The  Constitution. 


891 


In  early  times  the  Church  had  little  use  for  organic  ('onus. 
The  preachers  organized  classes  and  societies,  and  the  bishops 
organized  district  and  annual  conferences.  These  were  the 
efficient  and  sufficient  forms  under  which  the  great  evangelistic 
movement  went  on. 

II.  The  second  Methodist  definition  of  the  word  "Consti- 
tution" signifies  a  certain  set  of  "regulations/'  so  called,  which 
were  passed  at  the  General  Conference  of  1808.  The  Journal 
of  that  session  for  May  10th  contains  provision  for  a  dele- 
gated General  Conference;  and  in  view  of  the  modified  form 
and  order  of  government  thus  ordained,  six  "shall  nots"  were 
added,  with  a  proviso  for  doing  what  was  therein  forbidden. 
Though  quoted  in  a  previous  chapter,  the  following  minutes 
are  repeated  here: 

"Bishop  Asbnry  having  called  for  the  mind  of  the  Conference 
whether  any  farther  regulation  in  the  order  of  General  Confer- 
ence be  necessary,  the  question  was  put  and  carried  in  the  affirm- 
ative.  .   .  . 

"Moved  by  Stephen  G.  Roszel,  and  seconded  by  William  Burke, 
that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  draw  up  such  regulations  as 
they  think  best,  to  regulate  the  General  Conference,  and  report  the 
same  to  this  Conference.  Carried."  (Journal  of  General  Conference 
of  1808,  page  78,  May  10th.) 

After  a  time  it  came  to  be  the  custom  to  speak  of  the  six 
"Restrictive  Rules,"  so  called,  as  the  "Constitution  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference."  This  was  done  for  convenience,  and,  per- 
haps, also  for  the  reason  that  there  was  nothing  else  in  the 
Methodist  organization  to  which  that  dignified  term  Could 
properly  be  applied.  This  application  of  the  term  seems  to 
be  intended  in  the  Preface  to  the  treatise  on  "Ecclesiastical 
Law,"  by  Bishop  Harris  and  Judge  Henry.  (See  page  5.) 
Until  within  a  few  years  this  was  almost  the  only  sense  in 
which  the  word  "Constitution"  was  used.  The  Church  at 
large  did  not  seem  to  know  that  Episcopal  Methodism  had 
any  Constitution,  and  only  in  General  Conference  debates  was 
the  term  likely  to  be  heard.  It  seems  that  at  the  date  when 
the  above-mentioned  treatise  appeared — i.  e.,  in  the  year 
1878 — there  was  in  the  Church  at  large  no  considerable  thought 
of  any  form  of  organic  law.  If  those  eminent  Methodist  jur- 
ists, Harris  and  Henry,  had  suspected  that  so  much  use  would 


392  The  General  Conference. 


be  made  of  the  word  "Constitution"  in  the  legislation  or  ad- 
ministration of  the  Church,  they  would,  doubtless,  have  given, 
somewhere  in  that  exhaustive  volume,  a  chapter,  or  at  least 
a  page,  devoted  to  an  exact  definition  of  this  basal  term.  But 
no  such  chapter  or  page,  or  even  paragraph,  appears. 

So,  also,  in  the  painstaking  work  of  Dr.  Sherman,  en- 
titled, "The  History  of  the  Discipline,"  etc.,  first  published 
in  1874,  the  word  "Constitution"'  appears  only  incidentally 
in  the  first  sense  already  indicated,  while  in  the  copious  in- 
dex of  that  admirable  work  the  word  does  not  appear  at  all. 
Thus  the  merit  of  freshness  must  certainly  be  accredited  to 
.any  other  use  of  that  term. 

III.  This  suggests  the  third  use  of  the  word  "Constitu- 
tion" by  a  school  of  Methodist  jurists,  who,  under  repeated 
sanction,  and  even  direction,  of  successive  General  Confer- 
ences have  been  attempting  to  furnish  the  Church  with  a 
voluminous  basis  of  "organic  law." 

Any  exact  definition  of  such  an  outcome  of  Churchly  spirit 
and  legal  lore  would  be  impossible.  That  it  can  not  be  a 
Constitution  is  evident,  since  "Constitution"  signifies  organic 
law,  and  this  thing,  being  an  after-thought,  can  never  be 
"organic."  Besides,  a  Constitution  is  a  written  body  of  struc- 
tural materials;*  but  in  the  structural  era  of  the  Methodist 
Church  no  such  body  of  organic  matter  was  ever  written. 
Hence  it  can  not  be  a  "Constitution." 

Xevertheless,  the  records  of  recent  General  Conferences 
abound  with  phrases  in  which  the  word  "Constitution"  is  used, 
in  a  sense,  different  from  either  of  the  two  already  noticed, 
hence  the  need  of  the  nearest  possible  approach  to  a  definition 
according  to  this  new  use  of  the  term.  Perhaps  the  following 
may  serve  the  purpose: 

"Definition  3.  The  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  comprises  all  those  legal  and  proper  acts  of  legislation  by 
which  the  Church  has  come  to  be  constituted  as  it  now  is." 

With  this  brief  outline  of  the  whole  situation  under  re- 
view, attention  will  now  be  called  to  a  chronological  record  of 
the  legislation  of  the  Church  by  distinctive  eras,  in  which 

*8ee  Cooley's  "Principles  of  Constitutional  Law."  as  quoted  by  Judge 
Sibley  in  his  treatise  entitled,  "The  Organic  Law  of  tho  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,"  page  11. 


The  Constitution. 


393 


structural  material  and  "organic  law"  can  be  found.  The  dis- 
tinction between  the  two  "Constitutions"  just  quoted,  the  one 
included  in  the  other,  will  not  be  followed.  So  far  as  legis- 
lation, either  organic  or  statutory,  is  concerned,  the  Church 
is  the  General  Conference,  and  the  General  Conference  is  the 
Church.  The  distinction  alluded  to  seems  likely  to  increase 
the  confusion  already  existing  in  Methodist  minds  in  relation 
to  this  important  subject. 

THE  WESLEYAN  ERA  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  its  largest  and  highest  sense,  the  word  "Church"  may 
properly  be  used  to  designate  that  distinct  class  or  body  of 
true  Christian  believers  whose  beginnings  in  the  British  colo- 
nies of  North  America  in  the  year  1766  suggest  the  familiar 
names  of  Robert  Strawbridge,  Philip  Embury,  Barbara  Heck, 
and  Captain  Webb. 

The  names  of  these  good  people  were,  doubtless,  written 
in  heaven;  and  devout  Methodists  have  not  been  wanting  who 
believed  the  same  to  be  also  true  of  the  form  and  order  of 
their  Church.  No  longer  ago  than  1868  a  memorial  contain- 
ing this  distinct  idea  was  presented  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence at  Chicago:  the  heavenly  origin  of  "our  beloved  Meth- 
odism" being  alleged  as  an  argument  against  lay  delegation. 

But  heavenly  inspirations  come  through  mortal  minds, 
the  mortal  mind  in  this  case  being  that  of  John  Wesley.  He 
was  the  Moses  of  the  early  Methodist  Israel.  He  made  all 
the  Eules,  both  General  and  Special,  and  his  followers  believed 
in  him  as  a  veritable  prophet  of  God.  And  such  he  was. 
Those  who  think  they  find  the  secret  of  his  success  in  his 
genius  for  government  are  mistaken.  It  was  the  supernatural 
element  in  the  Methodist  movement  which  gave  Wesley  his 
autocratic  power.  "Genius"  is  shortlived;  and  in  the  later 
portion  of  his  life  Wesley's  "genius"  failed  him,  first  in 
America,  and  then  in  Britain;  but  while  he  lived,  and  since 
his  death,  the  divineness  of  his  mission  and  of  the  power  by 
which  he  fulfilled  it  placed  him  in  the  foremost  rank  of  men. 

The  Wesleyan  Era  of  American  Methodism  began  with 
Rankin,  anct  ended  with  the  Christmas  Conference.  When 
Asbury  refused  to  be  made  and  consecrated  general  superin- 


394 


The  General  Conference. 


tendent  for  America  without  the  authority  of  the  Conference, 
the  power  of  Wesley  came  to  an  end.  His  influence  will 
never  die. 

But  even  in  the  Wesleyan  era  of  the  Church  the  first  ma- 
terials for  a  Constitution  are  to  be  found.  In  the  brief  record 
of  the  first  assembly  of  the  American  preachers,  held  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1773,  beginning  on  the 
14th  of  July,  the  following  piece  of  possible  "organic  law" 
appears: 

"Ought  not  the  authority  of  Mr.  Wesley  and  that  (English) 
Conference  to  extend  to  the  preachers  and  people  in  America? 
"Answer.  Yes. 

"Ought  not  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Methodists  as 
contained  in  the  Minutes  (of  the  London  Conference)  to  be  the  sole 
rule  of  our  conduct  who  labor  in  the  Connection  with  Mr.  Wesley  in 
America  ? 

"Answer.  Yes." 

Thus  the  first  specimens  of  "organic  law"  in  American 
Methodism  may  be  formulated  thus: 
Article  I — John  Wesley. 
Article  II — The  London  Minutes. 

Perhaps  only  one  of  these  articles  is  needful,  since  Wesley 
was  himself  the  entire  sum  and  substance  of  the  Minutes 
aforesaid.  But  then  it  must  be  remembered  that  every  one 
of  the  ten  preachers  present  at  that  first  Methodist  Confer- 
ence on  this  continent  was  both  a  loyal  subject  of  John  Wesley 
and  of  King  George. 

Another  piece  of  structural  material  is  found  in  the  Min- 
utes of  the  regular  annual  conference  of  1784,  held  in  the 
months  of  April  and  May.  It  appears  that  some  irregular 
Methodist  preachers  had  come  out  to  the  American  colonies, 
and  it  had  become  needful  to  make  a  rule  in  regard  to  them. 
Hence  the  following  question  and  answer,  which  shows  the  true 
sense  and  basis  of  that  phrase  which  has  so  long  stood  in  the 
Discipline,  viz.,  "Our  present  existing  and  established  standards 
of  doctrine." 

"Ques.  21.  How  shall  we  conduct  ourselves  towards  European 

preachers? 

"Am.  If  they  are  recommended  by  Mr.  Wesley,  will  be  subject 
to  the  American  Conference,  preach  the  doctrine  taught  in  the  four 


The  Constitution. 


895 


volumes  of  sermons  and  'Notes  on  the  New  Testament,'  keep  the 
circuits  they  are  appointed  to,  follow  the  directions  of  the  London 
and  American  Minutes,  and  be  subject  to  Francis  Asbury  as  general 
assistant  while  he  stands  approved  by  Mr.  Wesley  and  the  Con- 
ference, we  will  receive  them;  but  if  they  walk  contrary  to  the 
above  directions,  no  ancient  right  or  appointment  shall  prevent 
their  being  excluded  from  our  Connection."    (Minutes  for  1784.) 

Thus  the  four  volumes  of  Wesley's  Sermons  and  his  "Notes 
on  the  New  Testament"  appear  as  Methodist  "standards  of 
doctrine." 

THE  SECOND,  OR  CONFERENCE,  ERA  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

At  the  first  Methodist  Conference— i.  e.,  that  of  1773— 
there  were  ten  preachers  present,  this  being  the  entire  force 
of  itinerant  ministers  at  that  time  in  America.  In  1784  the 
number  had  increased  to  eighty-one,  though  only  sixty  were 
present  at  the  Christmas  Convention.  They  were  all  ac- 
counted as  belonging  to  the  Conference,  though,  after  the  last- 
mentioned  date,  they  doubtless  never  all  assembled  at  one  time 
and  place. 

Now  having  a  nation  of  their  own,  they  were  also  to  have 
a  Church  of  their  own.  The  form  of  this  Church  was  modeled 
by  Mr.  Wesley  as  nearly  after  the  pattern  of  the  Church  of 
England  as  the  circumstances  of  the  case  admitted,  with 
himself  in  place  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  a  reg- 
ular clergy  in  the  best  "apostolic  succession"  at  that  time 
possible.  Wesley  has  done  well  by  his  spiritual  subjects  in  the 
New  World,  and  he  expects  them  to  do  well  by  him. 

But  the  calling  of  a  conference  for  legislating  on  what 
he  had  himself  determined  and  announced  was  no  part  of 
his  plan.  That  organizing  and  governing  convention  intro- 
duced a  new  Methodist  era. 

At  the  outset  of  this  "General  Conference,"  as  Lee  calls 
it,  or  this  "Convention,"  as  Asbury  describes  it,  the  dominat- 
ing human  influence  was  that  of  the  great  arch-Methodist 
across  the  sea.  This  was  as  he  would  have  had  it.  This  was 
like  the  London  Conference:  to  advise,  possibly,  but  certainly 
not  to  govern.  Yet  in  its  very  first  action  this  "body  of  min- 
isters and  preachers,"  as  Lee  describes  it,  began  to  show  a 
revolutionary  spirit. 


396 


Tlte  General  Conference. 


"At  this  Conference/'  says  Lee,  "we  formed  ourselves 
into  a  regular  Church  by  the  name  of  'The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church/  making,  at  the  same  time,  the  episcopal  office 
elective,  and  the  elected  superintendent  amenable  to  the  body 
of  ministers  and  preachers."  (Short  History  of  the  Methodists, 
p.  94.)  "The  advice  of  Mr.  Wesley"  is  elsewhere  cited  as  a 
reason  for  organizing  a  Church  with  the  episcopal  form  of 
government.  But  "advice"  was  not  the  word  which  expressed 
Wesley's  idea  of  his  relation  to  American  Methodism.  He 
had  "appointed"  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury  as  his 
representatives  in  the  new  Church,  and  he  expected  them  to 
rule  in  his  name. 

But  what  has  happened? 

Here  is  the  official  record  of  the  doings  of  that  organizing 
convention;  and  on  its  title  page  there  is  no  mention  of  the 
name  of  John  "Wesley.    The  form  is  as  follows: 

Minutes  of  Several  Conversations  between  The  Rev.  Thomas 
Coke,  LL.  D.,  The  Rev.  Francis  Asbury,  and  others,  at 
a  Conference,  begun  in  Baltimore,  in  the  State  of  Mary- 
land, on  Monday,  the  27th.  of  December,  in  the  year 
1784.  Composing  a  Form  of  Discipline  for  the  Ministers, 
Preachers  and  other  Members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  America.  Philadelphia:  Printed  by 
Charles  Cist,  in  Arch-Street,  the  Corner  of  Fourth-Street. 
M,DCC,LXXXV. 

Why  this  change?  In  the  published  Minutes  of  all  the 
preceding  Conferences  the  title  page  used  to  read:  "Minutes 
of  some  conversations  between  the  preachers  in  connection 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Wesley"  (etc.,  as  to  time  and  place). 
(See  volume  of  Conference  Minutes,  1773-1828,  Vol.  I,  pub- 
lished by  T.  Mason  and  G.  Lane.  Xew  York,  1840.)  But 
here  is  no  mention  even  of  the  name  of  the  great  chief. 

Has  there  been  a  revolution? 

Exactly  so.  The  Conference,  which  beirnn  in  acknowledged 
subjection  to  Wesley,  ended  as  an  independent  body,  the  sole 
representative  of  a  Christian  Church  in  full  New  Testament 
force  and  form.    The  new  era  was  introduced  when  Francis 


The  Constitution. 


;;(.)7 


Asbury,  not  satisfied  with  the  authority  of  Wesley  alone,  re- 
ferred the  question  of  his  own  superintendency  and  consecra- 
tion to  the  vote  of  the  Conference. 

To  this  view  it  has  been  objected  that  Mr.  Wesley  specially 
declared,  concerning  "those  poor  sheep  in  the  wilderness:" 
"They  are  now  at  full  liberty  simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures 
and  the  primitive  Church/'  (See  Wesley's  letter  "To  Dr. 
Coke,  Mr.  Asbury,  and  our  brethren  in  North  America,"  in 
the  Conference  Minutes,  Vol.  I.)  But  the  evident  answer  is 
furnished  by  the  context  of  the  words  of  Wesley  above 
quoted.  It  was  "the  English  hierarchy"  from  whose  author- 
ity they  were  "disentangled,"  but  not  by  any  means  from 
the  authority  of  John  Wesley.  This  his  subsequent  attempts 
to  control  the  American  Conference  abundantly  prove.  The 
king  did  not  abdicate.  He  only  dictated  a  charter  by  which 
the  American  Methodists  might  govern  themselves,  except  in 
so  far  as  he,  by  himself  or  by  his  viceroys,  might  wish  to  govern 
them. 

Another  objection  has  been  found  in  the  following  pas- 
sage, contained  in  the  Form  of  Discipline,  put  forth  by  the 
Convention  of  1784: 

"Qwes.  2.  What  can  be  done  in  order  to  the  future  unity  of  the 
Methodists? 

"Ans.  During  the  life  of  Mr.  Wesley  we  acknowledge  ourselves 
his  sons  in  the  gospel,  ready  in  matters  belonging  to  Church  gov- 
ernment to  obey  his  commands.  And  we  do  engage  after  his  death 
to  do  everything  that  we  judge  consistent  with  the  cause  of  religion 
in  America  and  the  political  interests  of  these  states,  to  preserve 
and  promote  our  union  with  the  Methodists  in  Europe." 

This  profession  of  filial  subjection  to  Mr.  Wesley  must 
have  been  adopted  at  the  instance  of  Dr.  Coke.  Asbury  de- 
clares that  he  never  approved  of  it,  and  there  was  no  one  else 
in  the  Convention  likely  to  move  such  a  minute.  From  the 
first  it  was  a  dead  letter,  and  three  years  later  it  was  expunged. 

It  is  true  that  Wesley's  name  was  subsequently  restored 
to  a  place  in  the  American  Minutes.  It  is  also  true  that,  to 
relieve  the  mind  of  their  venerable  and  honored  friend,  the 
Conference  of  1789  added  a  new  question  to  the  Discipline, 
the  answer  whereto  stated  that  John  Wesley,  Thomas  Coke, 


398 


The  General  Conference. 


and  Francis  Asbury  exercised  episcopal  authority  in  the 
Methodist  Church  in  Europe  and  xVmerica,  At  this  Wesley 
was  more  incensed  than  before.  But  it  is  plain  that  Wesley's 
episcopate  in  America  after  1784  was  merely  honorary  and 
nominal.    His  authority  had  come  to  an  end. 

The  question  now  arises:  What  became  of  the  power  of 
Mr.  Wesley  over  the  Methodists  in  America?  Into  whose 
hands  did  it  fall? 

This  question  might,  in  part,  be  answered  by  another,  viz.: 
What  became  of  the  power  of  George  III  over  the  colonists 
in  America?  Into  whose  hands  did  it  fall?  The  cases  were 
similar.  At  this  juncture  of  affairs  State  politics  and  Church 
politics  march  along  the  same  lines.  The  royal  prerogatives 
of  the  king  passed  to  the  Continental  Congress.  In  like 
manner,  a  few  months  later,  the  plenary  powers  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  autocracy  passed  to  "the  body  of  ministers  and 
preachers."    (Lee's  Short  History,  p.  94,  \  3.) 

The  phrase  made  use  of  by  Lee,  and  quoted  above — viz., 
"the  body  of  ministers  and  preachers" — is  important,  as  be- 
ing a  definition  of  that  other  phrase,  "the  General  Confer- 
ence." Beyond  question,  the  "General  Conference,"  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  annual  conferences,  was,  at  that  time, 
commonly  understood  to  consist  of  all  the  itinerant  ministry. 
On  this  definition  the  force  of  certain  "Constitutional"  ac- 
tions of  that  Conference  depends. 

In  later  times  two  divergent  views  of  this  subject  have 
been  held  by  the  two  great  sections  of  the  Church.  In  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the  consensus  of  opinion  is  as 
above  stated.  In  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
the  episcopate  is  held  to  be  of  co-ordinate  authority  with 
the  General  Conference.  The  following  explanatory  remark 
was  made  by  one  of  the  best  authorities  on  this  question  in 
either  section  of  the  Church:  "All  members  of  our  General 
Conference  believe  in  the  plenary  power  of  the  Conference 
until  they  become  bishops,  and  then  they  take  the  southern 
view." 

So  far  as  Asbury  is  concerned,  the  co-ordinate  authority  of 
the  episcopate  and  the  General  Conference  is  untenable.  By 


The  Constitution. 


399 


his  refusal  to  be  ordained  and  made  general  superintendent 
on  Wesley's  sole  authority,  he  placed  the  very  existence  of 
his  bishopric  at  the  will  of  the  "body  of  ministers  and 
preachers."  He  thus  established  a  precedent  which  was 
shortly  enacted  into  the  organic  law  of  the  Church,  where 
the  doctrine  of  the  power  of  the  General  Conference  to,  make 
and  unmake  bishops,  and  to  keep  them  under  constant  con- 
trol, has  stood  from  that  day  to  this. 

Even  Dr.  Coke,  who  was  only  a  Wesleyan  bishop,  adds 
force,  by  contrast,  to  the  doctrine  above  stated.  His  acts,  as 
seen  in  a  previous  chapter,  were  repeatedly  challenged,  and 
when  at  length  he  entreated  his  American  brethren  to  accept 
his  full  episcopal  service,  it  was  the  vote  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  179G  which  saved  him  the  loss  of  his  episcopate; 
for  nowhere  except  in  America  was  he  ever  a  bishop  at  all. 
Thus,  substantially,  his  official  position  came  to  be  the  same 
as  that  of  Bishop  Asbury. 

The  idea  of  establishing  a  "Constitution"  for  their  new 
Church  seems  never  to  have  entered  the  minds  of  the  sixty 
members  of  the  Christmas  Convention.  There  is  not  even 
a  record  of  a  formal  adoption  of  its  name.  In  answer  to 
Question  3  in  the  brief  Minutes  of  that  session  it  is  said: 

"We  will  form  ourselves  into  an  Episcopal  Church,  under  the 
direction  of  superintendents,  elders,  deacons,  and  helpers,  accord- 
ing to  the  Forms  of  Ordination  annexed  to  our  Liturgy  and  the 
Form  of  Discipline  set  forth  in  these  Minutes." 

The  name  "Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  which  should 
have  stood  as  the  first  Article  in  a  regular  written  Constitu- 
tion, does  not  occur  in  the  Minutes  at  all,  except  upon  the 
title  page  of  the  little  volume.  There  is  a  tradition  that  this 
name  was  suggested  by  John  Dickins;  and  it  seems  to  have 
been  adopted  just  as  it  has  been  retained — i.  e.,  by  universal 
consent. 

At  this  point  a  brief  retrospect  brings  to  view  the  follow- 
»      ing  materials  as  having  entered  into  the  structure  of  the  new 
Church  established,  according  to  the  advice  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
by  the  Christmas  Conference  or  Convention  of  1784.  The 
itemized  form  in  common  use  for  Constitutions,  and  already 


400 


The  General  Conference. 


adopted  in  respect  to  the  Wesleyan  era,  may  still  be  followed. 
Tims: 

Article  L  Organization. 

"The  United  Societies  of  Methodists  in  America  do  now  form 
themselves  into  an  independent  Church.  This  action  is  taken  by 
'the  body  of  ministers  and  preachers'  assembled  in  Conference,  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  in  the  state  of  Maryland,  begun  on  the  27th 
-  day  of  December,  1784."  (See  Annual  Minutes,  Volume  I,  repub- 
lished in  1840,  page  22,  fl  7.) 

Article  II.  Name. 

"The  name  of  this  organization  shall  be  The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  America."  (See  Lee's  "Short  History  of  the  Meth- 
odists," page  94;  also  page  181,  Minutes  for  1785.) 

Article  III.    Form  of  Government. 

"This  Church  shall  have  an  Episcopal  form  of  government." 
(See  Lee,  page  9G,  Minutes  for  1785.) 

Article  IV.  Ministry. 

"The  ministry  of  this  Church  consists  of  general  superintendents, 
elders,  deacons,  and  assistants."  (See  Annual  Minutes  of  Confer- 
ence or  Convention  of  1784,  republished,  Volume  I,  page  22,  ques- 
tions 1,  2,  3,  4.) 

Article  V.    Standards  of  Doctrine. 

"The  standards  of  doctrine  of  this  Church  are  Wesley's  Four 
Volumes  of  Sermons  and  his  'Notes  on  the  New  Testament.'  "  (See 
Annual  Minutes,  republished,  Volume  I,  page  21,  question  21.) 

Article  VI.    The  Conference. 

"  'The  body  of  ministers  and  preachers'  of  this  Church,  when 
assembled  for  that  purpose,  shall  constitute  a  Conference  wherein 
the  supreme  governing  and  legislative  power  of  the  Church  is 
vested."  (See  Annual  Minutes  of  1784,  republished,  page  22,  para- 
graph 7.) 

Article  VII.    The  Episcopate. 

"The  episcopate  of  this  Church  is  elective  by,  and  amenable  to, 
the  Conference  of  'the  body  of  ministers  and  preachers.'  "  (Ibid.) 


The  Constitution. 


401 


Whatever  forms  of  words  may  be  used  to  designate  them, 
these  five  structural  elements  were  unquestionably  built  into 
the  foundation  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  the  first 
Constituting  Convention,  or  Conference,  opened  in  the  city  of 
Baltimore  in  the  year  178-1. 

The  work  of  the  second  formative  Conference — namely,  that 
of  1792 — will  be  considered  in  its  historic  order. 

To  the  above  constituent  materials  laid  in  the  foundations 
of  this  Church  some  authorities  add  the  Articles  of  Religion 
and  the  General  Rules  of  the  United  Societies.  These  col- 
lections of  doctrinal  tenets  and  moral  precepts,  compiled  from 
the  Prayer  Book,  or  drawn  up  by  Mr.  Wesley,  were  sometimes 
printed  in  the  Minutes  of  early  American  Conferences;  but 
they  certainly  were  not  organic  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  That  Church  would  have  been  all  that  it  was,  or 
was  intended  to  be,  without '  them.  In  maintenance  of  the 
view  here  disallowed  it  is  said  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1808,  the  Articles  of  Religion  and  the 
General  Rules  must  have  been  fundamental,  since  they  were 
both  included  among  the  things  which  future  General  Con- 
ferences were  forbidden  to  alter  or  do  away. 

To  this  it  is  replied  that  the  estimation  in  which  any  tenet 
or  rule  might  be  held  by  the  Conference  of  1808  could  not 
affect  its  historic  status.  If  it  was  not  organic,  if  it  was  not 
comprised  in  the  primary  structure  of  the  Church,  no  amount 
of  respect  or  protection  could  lift  it  into  the  position  of  or- 
ganic law. 

Following  the  remark  of  Asbury  concerning  the  character 
of  the  Christmas  Assembly  of  1784,  Sherman,  in  his  History 
of  the  Discipline,  holds  the  following  language: 

"The  Christmas  Conference  was  a  General  Conference,  as  it 
embodied  the  entire  ministry;  but  irregular,  as  it  did  not  become  a 
part  of  the  economy  of  the  Church,  by  assembling  at  stated  periods 
in  the  future.  It  was  a  Convention  assembled  for  the  purpose 
of  organizing  the  Church,  and  establishing  a  Constitution  for  the 
government  of  the  body,  without  any  expectation  of  its  recurrence." 
(History  of  Discipline,  page  27.) 

The  Conference  of  1787  has  sometimes  been  spoken  of  as 
a  General  Conference.    It  was  ordered  by  Mr.  Wesley  as  such, 
26 


402 


The  General  Conference. 


and  Dr.  Coke  came  over  to  hold  it.  Wesley  also  ordered  the 
election  and  consecration  of  Richard  Whatcoat  as  general  su- 
perintendent, with  the  view,  as  was  supposed,  of  recalling 
Asbury  to  England.  The  refusal  of  the  "body  of  ministers 
and  preachers''  to  obey  either  of  these  commandments  shows 
the  completeness  of  the  revolution  that  had  taken  place  in 
Methodist  America.  Only  the  usual  annual  conference  for 
that  year  was  held,  and  Whatcoat  was  not  made  general  super- 
intendent. Mr.  Wesley  was  still  loved  and  honored,  but  his 
authority  had  been  assumed  by  the  Conference. 

There  was  a  prevailing  impression  in  the  Church  that 
another  General  Assembly  of  "the  whole  body  of  ministers 
and  preachers"  would  be  held  for  the  purpose  of  completing 
the  work  of  organizing  the  Church.  The  convention  of  1784 
had  only  made  a  definite  beginning,  and  further  "organic 
law"  was  evidently  required.  On  this  subject  Lee  speaks,  in 
reference  to  the  General  Conference  of  1792,  as  follows: 

"The  preachers  generally  thought  that,  in  all  probability,  there 
would  never  be  another  Conference  of  the  kind  at  which  all  the 
preachers  in  the  Connection  might  attend.  It  was  generally  thought 
this  Conference  would  adopt  some  permanent  regulations  which 
would  prevent  the  preachers  in  future  from  coming  together.  This 
persuasion  brought  out  more  of  the  preachers  than  otherwise  would 
have  attended."    (Lee's  "Short  History  of  the  Methodists,"  p.  177.) 

This  is  important,  as  bringing  out  two  facts:  First,  the 
Conference  of  1792  was  expected  to  amend  and  further  per- 
fect the  Constitution  of  1781;  second,  it  is  incidentally 
shown  that  it  was  by  no  means  the  custom  for  all  the  preach- 
ers to  go  to  Conference.  Probably  the  sixty  out  of  a  total  of 
eighty-one,  who  attended  the  General  Conference  or  Conven- 
tion of  1784,  was  a  larger  proportionate  attendance  than 
usual  on  Conference  occasions. 

On  this  subject,  after  mentioning  the  suggestion  of  a 
council,  which  plan,  he  says,  "fell  dead  at  its  birth,"  Sherman 
continues  thus: 

"The  only  other  eligible  plan  seemed  to  be  to  call  the  whole  body 
of  traveling  preachers  together  at  stated  intervals,  to  consider  and 
settle  the  business  of  the  Connection.  This  was  the  first  question 
of  the  hour.  To  settle  it,  a  large  part  of  the  traveling  preachers 
had  convened  and  united,  as  a  means  of  attaining  this  end,  in  the 


The  Constitution. 


4<>;>> 


adoption  of  the  General  Conference,  to  be  held  quadrennially,*  and 
to  be  composed  of  all  the  traveling  preachers."  (History  of  Dis- 
cipline, page  30.) 

On  the  authority  of  the  testimony  above  quoted  from  Lee 
and  Sherman,  to  which  might  be  added  that  of  Stevens,  who 
speaks  to  the  same  effect,  the  General  Conference  of  1792  is 
commonly  held  to  have  been  a  sort  of  annex  or  supplement 
to  the  Convention  of  1784. 

Following  the  consensus  of  early  opinion  on  this  subject, 
the  substance  of  the  organizing  acts  of  the  Conference  may 
properly  be  classed  as  Constitutional  Amendments. 

The  Church  established  by  the  Convention  of  1784  being 
an  Episcopal  Church,  the  office  of  bishop  therein  appeared 
to  require  special  safeguards.  Hence  the  presence  in  the  Dis- 
cipline of  1792  of  the  new  section  numbered  IV.  This  section 
so  well  illustrates  the  sense  of  its  own  powers,  as  held  by  the 
Supreme  Legislature  of  the  Church,  that  it  is  here  reproduced 
entire: 

"Ques.  1.  How  is  a  bishop  to  be  constituted  in  future? 

"Ans.  By  the  election  of  the  General  Conference,  and  the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  three  bishops,  or  at  least  of  one  bishop  and  two 
elders. 

"Ques.  2.  If  by  death,  expulsion,  or  otherwise,  there  be  no  bishop 
remaining  in  our  Church,  what  shall  we  do? 

"Ans.  The  General  Conference  shall  elect  a  bishop;  and  the 
elders,  or  any  three  of  them,  that  shall  be  appointed  by  the  General 
Conference  for  that  purpose,  shall  ordain  him  according  to  our 
office  of  ordination. 

"Ques  3.  What  is  the  bishop's  duty? 

"Ans.  1.  To  preside  in  our  conferences. 

"2.  To  fix  the  appointments  of  the  preachers  for  the  several 
circuits. 

"3.  In  the  intervals  of  the  conferences,  to  change,  receive,  or 
suspend  preachers,  as  necessity  may  require. 

"4.  To  travel  through  the  Connection  at  large. 

"5.  To  oversee  the  spiritual  and  temporal  business  of  the  so- 
cieties. 

"0.  To  ordain  bishops,  elders,  and  deacons. 

♦Although  the  Gfeneral  Conference  of  1792  "  determined  to  have  another 
General  Conference  at  the  end  of  four  years,"  as  stated  by  Lee  ("Short  His- 
tory," p.  181,  ir  4),  no  rule  was  passed  making  the  four  years'  term  a  stated  period 
for  the  recurrence  of  the  session.  Like  much  else  which  has  come  to  be  the 
recognized  and  authoritative  government  of  the  Church,  the  quadrennial 
feature  of  its  supreme  legislature  was,  in  part,  a  growth. 


404 


The  General  Conference. 


"Ques.  4.  To  whom  is  the  bishop  amenable  for  his  conduct? 

"Ans.  To  the  General  Conference,  who  have  power  to  expel 
him  for  improper  conduct,  if  they  see  it  necessary. 

"Qves.  5.  What  provision  shall  be  made  for  the  trial  of  an  im- 
moral bishop,  in  the  interval  of  the  General  Conference? 

"Am.  If  a  bishop  be  guilty  of  immorality,  three  traveling  elders 
shall  call  upon  him,  and  examine  him  on  the  subject:  and  if  the 
three  elders  verily  believe  that  the  bishop  is  guilty  of  the  crime, 
they  shall  call  to  their  aid  two  presiding  elders  from  two  districts 
in  the  neighborhood  of  that  where  the  crime  was  committed,  each 
of  which  presiding  elders  shall  bring  with  him  two  elders,  or  an 
elder  and  a  deacon.  The  above  mentioned  nine  persons  shall  form 
a  conference,  to  examine  into  the  charge  brought  against  the  bishop: 
and  if  two-thirds  of  them  verily  believe  him  to  be  guilty  of  the 
crime  laid  to  his  charge,  they  shall  have  authority  to  suspend  the 
bishop  till  the  ensuing  General  Conference,  and  the  districts  shall 
be  regulated  in  the  meantime  as  is  provided  in  the  case  of  the  death 
of  a  bishop. 

"Qucs.  0.  If  the  bishop  cease  from  traveling  at  large  among  the 
people,  shall  he  still  exercise  his  office  among  us  in  any  degree? 

"Ans.  If  he  cease  from  traveling  without  the  consent  of  the 
General  Conference,  he  shall  not  thereafter  exercise  any  ministerial 
function  whatsoever  in  our  Church. 

"N.  B. — The  bishop  has  obtained  liberty,  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
Conference,  to  ordain  local  preachers  to  the  office  of  deacons  pro- 
vided they  obtain  a  testimonial  from  the  society  to  which  they  be- 
long, and  from  the  stewards  of  the  circuit,  signed  also  by  three 
elders,  three  deacons,  and  three  traveling  preachers." 

The  following  amendments,  tabulated  as  in  supplied  form 
of  Constitution  of  1784,  were  made  (for  substance)  by  the 
General  Conference  of  1792: 

Amendment  I— Amending  Article  VI  of  1784. 

"The  General  Conference  shall  consist  of  all  the  traveling 
preachers  who  shall  be  in  full  connection  (in  an  annual  confereix  •« >) 
at  the  time  of  holding  the  Conference. 

Amendment  II— Additional  to  Same  Article. 

"All  the  traveling  preachers  of  the  district,  or  districts,  re- 
spectively, are  members  of  the  district  (annual)  conferences. 

Article  III— Amending  Article  VI  of  1784. 

"It  shall  take  two-thirds  of  all  the  members  of  the  General  Con- 
ference to  make  any  new  rule,  or  abolish  an  old  one.  But  a  ma- 
jority may  alter  or  amend  any  rule. 


The  Constitution. 


405 


Amendment  IV— The  District,  or  Annual,  Conference. 

"For  convenience  of  administration,  the  ministers  and  preachers 
are  organized  into  district  conferences  to  be  held  annually.  To 
these  bodies  the  members  thereof  are  severally  amenable  for  their 
conduct."  (See  Section  III,  Discipline  of  1792,  page  15,  questions 
3  and  4.) 

This  last  article  is  quoted  by  Sherman  from  the  Minutes 
of  the  General  Conference  of  1792.  (History  of  Discipline, 
p.  30.)  All  the  other  formulated  and  numbered  articles,  as 
will  have  been  seen,  are  mere  condensations  or  paraphrases 
of  the  acts  of  the  two  formative  General  Assemblies  of  the 
"body  of  ministers  and  preachers." 

Special  attention  is  due  to  'the  last  number  of  the  series, 
above  cited.  What  more  complete  authority  can  be  imagined 
than  that  which  the  General  Conference  of  1792  assumes  to 
itself?  "Any  new  rule."  There  are  no  exceptions.  In  a 
two-thirds'  majority  of  the  Supreme  Methodist  Legislature 
the  ultimate,  absolute,  unlimited  government  of  the  Church 
is  claimed  to  reside. 

Here,  too,  may  be  fonnd  the  origin  of  that  well-established 
basis  of  Methodist  common  law,  that  "no  General  Conference  can 
bind  its  successor."  The  vote  of  two-thirds  of  a  General  Confer- 
ence was  adequate  to  the  doing  of  any  act  of  legislation;  but  such 
act  was  of  no  force  as  against  a  similar  vote  in  a  subsequent  ses- 
sion. The  legislative  authority  of  a  General  Conference  is 
here  supposed  to  begin  with  the  close  of  its  session,  and  con- 
tinue until  the  close  of  the  next  quadrennial  session.  Thus 
it  is  possible  for  each  General  Conference  to  order  the  man- 
ner of  choosing  the  delegates  who  are  to  constitute  the  next 
succeeding  Assembly;  but  if  that  next  session  desires  to  do  so, 
it  can  expunge  any  rule  made  by  its  predecessor  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote.  It  is  evident  from  all  this  that  the  life  of  any 
law  made  by  a  General  Conference  is  measured  by  the  suffer- 
ance of  the  succeeding  General  Conference  or  Conferences, 
which  may  see  no  occasion  for  changing  or  removing  it.  This 
was  the  only  and  sufficient  provision  for  permanency  which, 
up  to  this  date,  the  "organic  law"  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  contained. 

It  is  fair  to  conclude  that  the  Conference  of  1792,  which 


406 


The  General  Conference. 


made  this  rule  for  its  own  government  had  no  idea  of  binding 
the  future  to  the  past.  All  doors  were  left  open.  There  were 
as  yet  no  class  interests  to  be  protected.  The  political  era 
had  not  yet  begun.  The  following  quotation  from  the  Preface 
of  the  Discipline  of  1792,  signed  by  Bishops  Coke  and  Asbury, 
shows  the  spirit  of  the  leading  minds  of  the  Church  at  that 
time: 

"We  think  ourselves  obliged  frequently  to  view  and  review  the 
whole  order  of  our  Church,  always  aiming  at  perfection,  standing 
on  the  shoulders  of  those  who  have  lived  before  us,  and  taking  the 
advantage  of  our  former  selves." 

With  the  Conference  of  1792  the  Constitution-making  pe- 
riod closed.  These  foundation-builders,  many  of  whom  were 
Englishmen,  had  no  fancy  for  Constitutional  fetters  or  Church 
decretals.  From  that  time  forward,  until  1808,  nothing  was 
heard  of  "Constitution'  or  Constitutional  Conventions.  The 
Church  now  had  anchors  enough.  What  she  required  was 
sails. 

The  rapid  increase  in  the  membership  and  ministry  of 
the  new  body  soon  made  the  General  Conference  unwieldy. 
Besides,  the  area  of  the  Church  soon  became  so  wide  that  the 
assembly  of  "the  body  of  ministers  and  preachers"  was  next 
to  impossible.  Therefore,  acting  on  its  rights,  as  established 
by  the  Constitution  of  1792  (formulated  and  numbered  above 
as  Article  VI),  the  General  Conference  of  1800  again 
changed  the  composition  of  that  body,  by  enacting  that  the 
Supreme  Legislature  of  the  Church  should  be  composed  of 
those  full  members  of  annual  conferences  only  "who  had  trav- 
eled four  years/' 

This  second  limitation  was  accepted  without  protest, 
though  the  junior  preachers  thereby  excluded  were  not  con- 
sulted. Here,  then,  is  still  further  evidence  that  the  General 
Conference  was  admitted  on  all  hands  to  have  full  power 
over  the  form  and  manner  of  its  own  existence,  as  well  as  over 
the  form  and  manner  of  the  existence  of  other  departments 
of  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  (Continued). 

SECTION  III  IN  THE  DISCIPLINE  OF  1808,  SO  PAR  AS  IT 
RELATES  TO  THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE. 

r  I  ^HE  General  Conference  of  180$  has  by  many  been  held 
to  mark  the  opening  of  a  new  constitutional  era  in  the 
Church.  Hence  arises  definition  3  of  the  word  "constitution/' 
as  given  at  the  outset  of  Chapter  IX;  viz.,  "The  Six  Restrictive 
Kules,"  with  the  proviso  for  their  suspension  or  modification. 

The  limits  of  this  chapter  do  not  admit  of  a  full  review  of 
the  controversy  which  has  of  late  arisen  over  this  definition 
and  the  questions  involved  in  it.  The  utmost  that  can  be  done 
will  be  to  point  out  the  controlling  historic  facts  involved  in 
the  case,  and  to  suggest,  in  brief,  the  chief  arguments  on  both 
sides  of  the  question. 

For  the  convenience  of  readers,  the  whole  of  Section  III 
of  the  Discipline  of  1808,  relating  to  the  General  Conference, 
is  here  reproduced,  of  which  "The  Six  Restrictive  Rules,"  as 
they  are  usually  called,  form  only  the  negative  side  of  the 
section: 

Of  the  General  Conference. 

"Ques.  2.  Who  shall  compose  the  General  Conference,  and  what 
are  the  regulations  and  powers  belonging  to  it? 

"Ans.  1.  The  General  Conference  shall  be  composed  of  one  mem- 
ber for  every  five  members  of  each,  annual  conference,  to  be  ap- 
pointed either  by  seniority  or  choice,  at  the  discretion  of  such 
annual  conference:  yet  so  that  such  representatives  shall  have 
traveled  at  least  four  full  calendar  years  from  the  time  that  they 
were  received  on  trial  by  an  annual  conference,  and  are  in  full  con- 
nection at  the  time  of  holding  the  conference. 

"2.  The  General  Conference  shall  meet  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1812,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  thence- 
forward on  the  first  day  of  May  once  in  four  years  perpetually,  in 
such  place  or  places  as  shall  be  fixed  on  by  the  General  Conference 
from  time  to  time:  but  the  general  superintendents,  with  or  by  the 
advice  of  all  the  annual  conferences,  or  if  there  be  no  general 

407 


408 


The  General  Conference. 


superintendent,  all  the  annual  conferences  respectively  shall  have 
power  to  call  a  General  Conference,  if  they  judge  it  necessary,  at 
any  time. 

"3.  At  all  times  when  the  General  Conference  is  met,  it  shall 
take  two-thirds  of  the  representatives  of  all  the  annual  conferences 
to  make  a  quorum  for  transacting  business. 

"4.  One  of  the  general  superintendents  shall  preside  in  the 
General  Conference;  but  in  case  no  general  superintendent  be 
present,  the  General  Conference  shall  choose  a  president  pro  tempore. 

"5.  The  General  Conference  shall  have  full  powers  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  our  Church,  under  the  following  limita- 
tions and  restrictions,  viz.: 

"(1)  The  General  Conference  shall  not  revoke,  alter,  or  change 
our  Articles  of  Religion,  nor  establish  any  new  standards  or  rules 
of  doctrine  contrary  to  our  present  existing  and  established  stand- 
ards of  doctrine. 

"(2)  They  shall  not  allow  of  more  than  one  representative  for 
every  five  members  of  the  annual  conference,  nor  allow  of  a  less 
number  than  one  for  every  seven. 

"(3)  They  shall  not  change  or  alter  any  part  or  rule  of  our 
government,  so  as  to  do  away  Episcopacy  or  destroy  the  plan  of 
our  itinerant  general  superintendence. 

"(4)  They  shall  not  revoke  or  change  the  general  rules  of  the 
United  Societies. 

"(5)  They  shall  not  do  away  the  privileges  of  our  ministers  or 
preachers  of  trial  by  a  committee,  and  of  an  appeal:  Neither  shall 
they  do  away  the  privileges  of  our  members  of  trial  before  the 
society  or  by  a  committee,  and  c,f  an  appeal. 

"(G)  They  shall  not  appropriate  the  produce  of  the  Book  Con- 
cern, or  of  the  Charter  Fund,  to  any  purpose  other  than  for  the 
benefit  of  the  traveling,  supernumerary,  superannuated,  and  worn- 
out  preachers,  their  wives,  widows,  and  children:  Provided,  never- 
theless, that  upon  the  joint  recommendation  of  all  the  annual  con- 
ferences, then  a  majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  General  Conference 
succeeding  shall  suffice  to  alter  any  of  the  above  restrictions." 

In  determining  the  value  of  Section  III  of  the  Discipline  of 
1808,  so  far  as  the  question  of  the  Constitution  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  is  concerned,  it  is  proper  to  examine 
the  nature  and  determine  the  powers  of  the  body  by  which  that 
section  was  enacted.  This,  for  convenience,  may  be  done  in  a 
series,  of  numbered  paragraphs,  as  follows: 

1.  The  history  of  constitution-making  shows  that  certain 
conditions  are  held  to  be  essential  to  the  valid  enactment  of 
organic  law.    Of  those  essential  conditions  are  the  following; 


The  Const  it  u  tion. 


409 


viz.,  (a)  Time,  (b)  Previous  preparation,  (c)  Class  of  persons 
composing  the  legislative  body,  (d)  Full  intention  of  the  body 
in  question,  (e)  Possession  of  adequate  powers  for  the  act 
performed. 

2.  (a)  The  constructive  or  organizing  era  of  the  Church 
had  passed  long  before  the  assembling  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1808.  The  only  way  in  which  any  new  organic  law 
could  rightfully  be  enacted  was  by  calling  another  Constitu- 
tional Convention.  The  General  Conference  of  1808  was  not 
such  a  body,  but  was  the  regular  quadrennial  session  of  the 
Supreme  Legislature  of  the  Church. 

(b)  In  the  memorial  of  the  New  York  Annual  Conference, 
"seconded  by  the  New  England,  Western,  and  South  Carolina 
Annual  Conferences,"  *  it  appears  that  the  majority  of  the 
annual  conferences  were  previously  addressed  on  the  subject 
of  a  Delegated  General  Conference,  and  some  of  them  had 
voted  instructions  or  advice  to  their  members  who  should  attend 
the  approaching  General  Conference. 

(c)  There  is  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  proper  composition 
of  the  body  in  question  as  a  regular  session  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  They  were  all 
presumably  itinerant  ministers  of  the  Church,  "who  had  trav- 
eled four  years,"  according  to  the  limitation  fixed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1800. 

(d)  The  intention  of  the  New  York,  New  England,  Western, 
and  South  Carolina  Annual  Conferences  was  thus  expressed  in 
their  memorial  to  the  General  Conference  of  1808,  against  which 
there  is  no  record  of  protest: 

"We  therefore  present  unto  you  this  memorial,  requesting  that 
yon  will  adopt  the  principle  of  an  equal  representation  from  the 
annual  conferences,  to  form  in  future  a  Delegated  General  Confer- 
ence, and  that  you  will  establish  such  rules  and  regulations  as  are 
necessary  to  carry  the  same  into  effect."  (Journal  of  General  Con- 
ference of  1808,  page  77,  ff  2.) 

(e)  Under  the  organic  law  of  the  Church,  as  enacted  by  the 
Convention  of  1784  and  amended  by  the  General  Conference  of 
1792,  the  question  arises,  Were  the  powers  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1808  adequate  to  the  valid  enactment  of  those  por- 

*  See  Journal  General  Conference,  1808,  p.  78,  IT  2;  also,  Sherman,  "  History 
of  Discipline,"  p.  35,  If  6. 


410 


The  General  Conference. 


tions  of  Section  III  of  the  Discipline  of  1808  which  are  held 
to  be  of  the  nature  and  force  of  a  Constitution? 

The  answer  to  this  question,  in  the  absence  of  any  special 
or  unusual  powers  possessed  by  that  body,  must  turn  upon  the 
extent  of  the  powers  which  it  had  inherited  from  the  Conven- 
tion of  1784,  through  succeeding  General  Conferences.  These 
powers  are  stated  in  what,  for  convenience,  has  been  tabulated 
as  Amendment  II,  by  the  Conference  of  1792,  to  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1784.  A  vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  members  of  the 
General  Conference  was  adequate  to  the  making  of  "any  new 
rule/'  or  "abolishing  an  old  one,"  and  "a  majority  could  amend 
any  rule." 

Thus  the  power  of  the  General  Conference  of  1808  was 
plenary,  if  exercised  in  accordance  with  what  may  be  called 
natural  principles  and  inherent  or  acquired  rights.  For  there 
are,  admittedly,  certain  natural  and  resultant  rights,  both  indi- 
vidual and  organic,  which  are  superior  to  all  legislation. 

For  example:  In  paragraph  5,  of  Section  III,  of  the  Dis- 
cipline of  1808,  the  following  words  occur: 

"5th.  The  General  Conference  shall  meet  on  the  first  day  of 
May  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  eighteen  hundred  and  twelve,  and 
thenceforward  on  the  first  day  of  May,  once  in  four  years,  per- 
petually," etc. 

But  for  the  provision  and  power  contained  in  Amendment 
II,  as  above,  such  a  word  as  "perpetually, "  in  such  connection, 
would  be  in  excess  of  all  legislative  power  possessed  by  the 
General  Conference,  and  would  therefore  be  null  and  void.  As 
coming  under  Amendment  II,  the  word  "perpetually''  is  of  no 
force  for  more  than  one  succeeding  General  Conference.  It 
is  only  a  "rule,"  which  may  be  amended  or  abolished  by  the 
next  succeeding  similar  body  to  that  which  thereby  sought  in 
vain  to  attain  a  fixity  for  the  date  of  the  assembling  of  the 
Supreme  Legislature  of  the  Church. 

3.  In  defense  of  Definition  2,  as  above,  which  makes  Section 
III  of  the  Discipline  of  1808  "a  new  Constitution"  for  the 
Church,  it  ha?  been  said  that,  as  the  Delegated  General  Con- 
ference was  to  be  a  new  body,  the  provisions  for  its  establishment 
must  be  regarded  as  a  new  Constitution. 

To  this  it  is  replied  that,  upon  the  identity  of  any  General 


The  Constitution. 


41  1 


Conference  with  its  predecessors  its  constitutional  status  and 
authority  must  depend.  If  the  first  Delegated  General  Con- 
ference was  not  held  under  the  Constitution  of  1784  and  the 
Amendments  of  1792,  as  well  as  under  Section  III  of  the  Dis- 
cipline of  1808,  it  would  not  be  a  legitimate  General  Conference, 
and  could  not  have  any  legislative  or  rule-maJcing  power. 

Besides,  if  the  Delegated  General  Conference  of  1812  was  to 
be  "a  new  body,"  it  was  entitled  to  make  a  Constitution  for  itself. 

4.  Again,  from  a  different  standpoint  it  is  claimed  that, 
under  what  is  tabulated  as  Amendment  II,  made  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1792,  the  General  Conference  of  1808  pos- 
sessed plenary  power,  and  therefore  was  competent  to  make  a 
new  Constitution  for  the  Church  and  for  its  Supreme  Legislative 
Body. 

To  this  it  is  replied:  Amendment  II,  as  above,  gives  power 
to  make  any  new  "rule/'  or  to  alter,  or  amend,  or  abolish  any 
old  one.  But  the  making  of  a  new  "rule"  is  quite  a  different 
matter  from  making  a  new  "Constitution."  The  use  of  the 
word  "rule"  in  Amendment  II  fixes  the  scope  and  force  of  the 
word  "regulations,"  which  is  repeatedly  used  throughout  the 
entire  history  of  the  rise,  progress,  and  final  enactment  of 
Section  III  of  the  Discipline  of  1808.  Nowhere  in  that  whole 
record  does  the  word  "Constitution"  occur.  If  under  the 
modest  term,  "rule,"  that  precocious  young  genius  from  New 
Hampshire,  Joshua  Soule,  was  attempting  to  cover  up  and 
push  through  a  set  of  enactments  which  were  intended  to  rob 
the  Supreme  Legislature  of  a  portion  of  its  plenary  power,  he 
was  guilty  of  an  act  of  usurpation  and  schism. 

If,  under  the  authority  of  Amendment  II  as  above,  it  be 
possible  to  make  a  "rule"  which  is  strong  enough  to  abolish 
an  old  "Constitution,"  and  make  a  new  one,  then  the  organic 
law  of  the  Church  is  at  the  mercy  of  any  brilliant,  alert,  am- 
bitious leader  who,  like  Soule,  could  face  down  one  General 
Conference  and  bend  another  to  his  will. 

5.  Again,  in  defense  of  the  claims  of  Section  III,  as  above, 
to  be  a  "new  Constitution"  of  the  Church  and  of  its  Supreme 
Legislature,  it  is  said  that  the  members  of  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1808  are  about  to  surrender  their  power  to  a  Dele- 
gated Conference,  to  be  composed  of  only  one  in  five  of  "the 


412 


The  General  Conference. 


bod}'  of  ministers  and  preachers;7'  and  therefore  it  was  their 
right  to  fix  a  Constitution  for  that  new  body,  by  which  they 
might  reserve  some  fractions  of  the  plenary  power  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  as  such,  to  themselves. 

To  this  it  is  replied  that,  except  as  members  of  an  actual 
session  of  a  General  Conference,  they  possessed  no  legislative 
power  at  all.  While  the  session  was  in  progress  they  had  noth- 
ing which  they  could  "surrender,"  except  their  seats  in  the 
bod}T,  and  that  only  to  their  proper  alternate,  if  such  alternate 
had  been  chosen.  And  when  the  session  adjourned  sine  die, 
there  was  no  power  which,  as  ex-members  of  the  dissolved 
House,  they  could  possibly  carry  away.  To  contrive  "a  new 
Constitution"  with  the  view  to  such  an  attempt,  is  not  at  all 
to  the  credit  either  of  the  sagacity  or  honesty  of  the  General 
Conference  of  180S. 

G.  It  is  further  said,  in  the  effort  to  lift  Section  III,  as  above, 
into  the  dignity  and  force  of  "a  new  Constitution,"  that,  in  the 
original  and  organic  form  of  the  General  Conference  the  whole 
"body  of  ministers  and  preachers"  was  either  actually  or  con- 
structively present.  But  by  the  plan  for  a  Delegated  General 
Conference  this  was  no  longer  possible.  The  sweeping  reduction 
in  ministerial  legislative  powers  and  rights  amounted  to  a  kind 
of  revolution.  A  new  Constitution  for  the  new  Delegated  Body 
was  therefore  made. 

To  this  it  is  replied:  The  whole  "body  of  ministers  and 
preachers"  was  to  be,  either  actually  or  constructively,  present 
in  the  Delegated  General  Conference  provided  for  in  Section  III 
of  the  Discipline  of  1808.  Every  voting  member  of  an  annual 
conference  was  present  in  the  ensuing  General  Conference,  either 
in  person  or  by  the  representative  of  his  annual  conference. 

7.  But  it  is  insisted,  in  defense  of  the  constitutional  status  of 
"the  Six  Restrictive  Rules,"  that  they  have  been  acted  upon 
by  General  Conferences  from  1812  down  to  the  present  time  as 
the  new  Constitution  of  the  Delegated  General  Conference. 

To  this  it  is  replied  that  the  six  Restrictive  Rules  are  minus 
quantities.  They  represent  something  proposed  to  be  taken 
away  from  something  else.  No  number  of  "They  shall  nots" 
could,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  possibly  amount  to  a  "Consti- 
tution." 


The  Constitution. 


413 


8.  What,  then,  is  the  status,  so  far  as  the  question  of  a 
Constitution  is  concerned,  of  Section  III  in  the  Discipline 
of  1808? 

Doubtless  the  same  as  the  status  of  the  provisions  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1792  and  that  of  1800,  which  modify 
the  composition  of  the  General  Conference  itself.  The  pro- 
visions of  that  section  are  constitutional  amendments;  nothing 
more,  and  nothing  less. 

The  General  Conference  of  1808  amended  the  Constitution 
of  the  Church,  as  it  had  a  perfect  right  to  do.  They  were  fol- 
lowing the  precedent  set  by  the  Conferences  of  1792  and  1800. 
But  not  being  endowed  with  constitution-making  powers,  in 
addition  to  their  legislative  functions,  as  a  regular  General 
Conference,  they  did  not  claim  that  the  changes  they  were  mak- 
ing were  of  the  nature  of  "a  new  Constitution/'  They  first 
spoke  of  them  as  "regulations;"  and  they  have  always  since 
been  spoken  of  as  "rules,"  until  a  very  recent  date. 

9.  An  examination  of  the  respective  provisions  of  that 
portion  of  Section  III,  etc.,  which  concerns  the  General  Con- 
ference, still  further  establishes  their  status  as  simple  consti- 
tutional amendments.  Thus  "Answer  1"  amends  Article  VI 
(as  tabulated)  by  defining  and  limiting  the  membership  of  the 
General  Conference.  It  thus  (as  tabulated)  becomes  Amend- 
ment IV. 

Answer  2  amends  Article  VI  (as  tabulated),  by  fixing  the 
date  on  which  the  quadrennial  General  Conference  shall  meet, 
and  making  provision  for  calling  special  sessions.  It  thus  be- 
comes Amendment  V. 

Answer  3  amends  Article  VI  (as  tabulated),  by  fixing  a 
quorum  of  the  body.    It  thus  becomes  Amendment  VI. 

Answer  4  amends  Article  VI  (as  tabulated),  by  fixing  the 
presidency  of  the  General  Conference.  It  thus  becomes  Amend- 
ment VII. 

Answer  5,  with  its  six  restrictions,  amends  Article  VI,  by 
restricting  the  powers  of  the  General  Conference.  It  thus  be- 
comes Amendment  VIII. 

It  is  held  by  some  that  Restrictive  Rule  No.  1  amended 
Article  V  (as  tabulated)  in  the  Constitution  of  1784,  by  adding 
the  Articles  of  Religion  to,  or  combining  them  with,  "our 


414 


The  General  Conference. 


present  existing  and  established  standards  of  doctrine."  But  it 
may  be  answered,  that  the  use  of  the  conjunction  "nor"  in  the 
First  Restrictive  Rule  shows  that  "the  Articles  of  Religion" 
were  not  looked  upon  as  being  in  the  same  category  with  "our 
present  existing  and  established  standards  of  doctrine;"  i.  e., 
Lesley's  Four  Volumes  of  Sermons  and  his  "Xotes  on  the 
Xew  Testament."  The  "Articles"  were  mostly  anti- Wesleyan ; 
the  "Standards"  were  Wesley  himself. 

The  proviso  for  altering  the  six  restrictions  amends  Article 
VI  (as  tabulated),  by  transferring  to  the  annual  conferences  a 
part  of  the  supreme  governing  and  rule-making  power  which 
had  heretofore  resided  in  the  General  Conference. 

10.  If  it  be  asked,  What,  then,  became  the  power  of  the 
General  Conference  which  was  taken  away  from  it  by  the  six 
Restrictive  Rules?  the  answer  is:  They  have,  by  the  proviso 
affixed  to  the  said  "rules,"  passed  to  the  annual  conferences. 
They  thus  became  the  partners  of  the  General  Conference  to 
the  extent  indicated  by  the  six  Restrictive  Rules.  And  the 
whole  "body  of  ministers  and  preachers,"  which  was  the  original 
source  of  the  plenary  power  of  the  General  Conference,  by  its 
membership  in  both  annual  and  General  Conferences,  still  holds 
and  exercises  the  same  plenary  power  which  they  originally  ac- 
quired from  John  Wesley,  and  which,  in  1784,  they  gave  over  to 
the  General  Conference.  There  is  therefore  no  "new  General 
Conference,"  and  consequently  no  "new  Constitution"  for  "a 
new  General  Conference."  * 

It  thus  appears  that  Definition  2  (eTs  at  the  outset  of  Chap- 
ter IX),  which  makes  the  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  to  consist  of  Section  III  in  the  Discipline  of 
1808,  is  unhistoric.  It  is  false  alike  in  logic  and  in  law.  Even 
the  Constitutional  Commission,  whose  laborious  work  has  been 
rejected  by  two  successive  General  Conferences,  has  not  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  in  "the  Six  Restrictive  Rules"  a  body  of  minus 
quantities  large  enough  to  make  up  "a  new  Constitution." 

^Those  who  desire  to  pursue  this  subject  still  further  are  referred  to  the 
decision  of  Judge  Nelson,  of  the  Hupreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
Church  property  case.  It  may  be  found  in  the  Western  Christian  Advocate  for 
1851,  page  193,  column  7;  or  doubtless  in  any  other  Methodist  Church  paper  of 
or  near  December  3,  1851. 


The  Constitution. 


415 


CONSTITUTION  ACCORDING  TO  DEFINITION  III. 

III.  The  third  Methodist  definition  of  the  term  "Consti- 
tution" has  been  formulated  thus: 

The  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  com- 
prises all  those  legal  and  proper  acts  of  legislation  by  which 
the  Church  has  come  to  be  constituted  as  it  now  is. 

The  Constitutional  Commission  which  was  appointed  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1888,  for  the  purpose  of  finding  (or 
furnishing)  a  Constitution  for  the  Church,  made  a  report  to  the 
session  of  1892  at  Omaha  and  to  the  session  of  1896  at  Cleve- 
land, in  which  the  following  definition  occurs: 

"The  present  Constitution  of  the  Delegated  General  Conference, 
is  the  document  drawn  up  and  adopted  by  the  General  Conference 
of  1808;  but  modified  since  that  time  in  accordance  with  the  speci- 
fications and  restrictions  of  the  original  document  <i.  e.,  Section  III 
of  Discipline  of  1808),  and  is  now  in  paragraphs  55  to  64  inclusive  in 
the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  1888,  except- 
ing the  statement  as  to  the  definite  number  of  delegates  provided 
for  in  paragraph  55,  which  is  an  act  solely  within  the  power  of  the 
General  Conference,  under  the  permission  of  the  Second  Restrictive 
Rule. 

"Second.  The  organic  law  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
includes,  and  is  limited  to,  the  Articles  of  Religion,  the  General 
Rules  of  the  United  Societies,  and  that  which  we  have  already  de- 
fined as  'The  Constitution  of  the  General  Conference,'  while  the 
rules  and  regulations  enacted  by  the  General  Conference  are  statu- 
tory, and  form  no  part  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Church."  (Journal 
of  General  Conference  of  1892,  pages  393,  394.) 

The  thought  at  once  suggests  itself:  If  the  mere  definitions 
of  the  twofold  "Constitution"  proposed  by  the  Constitutional 
Commission  occupy  nearly  a  whole  page  in  a  law  book,  and  are 
so  prolific  in  doubts  and  confusions,  what  must  the  whole  .dual 
Constitution  itself  be?  Surely  the  General  Conference  has 
done  well  thus  far,  in  protecting  itself  and  the  Church  at  large 
from  the  mass  of  involved  material,  presumably  ever  increasing, 
which  this  Commission  seeks  to  impose  upon  the  Conference 
and  the  Church  as  a  "Constitution."  * 

*The  final  form  of  the  dual  constitution  proposed  by  the  Constitutional 
Commission  may  be  found  in  the  Journal  of  the  General  Conference  of  1896, 
pp.  339-344. 


416 


The  General  Conference. 


The  successive  changes  in  the  ratio  of  representation  of  the 
annual  conferences  in  the  General  Conference  may  be  set  down 
as  amendments  to  Article  VI  of  the  Constitution  of  1784-5,  thus: 

Amendment  IX.  Ratio  fixed  by  General  Conference  of 
1808,  not  more  than  1  in  5,  and  not  less  than  1  in  7. 

Amendment  X.  Ratio  changed  by  General  Conference  of 
1836  to  not  more  than  1  in  14,  and  not  less  than  1  in  30. 

Amendment  XI.  Ratio  again  changed  by  General  Confer- 
ence of  1872  from  not  more  than  1  in  30,  nor  less  than  1  in  45. 

ACTION  OF  GENERAL   CONFERENCE   UNDER  CONSTITU- 
TION AND  AMENDMENTS. 

Reference  has  been  made  in  a  previous  chapter  to  the  long 
contention  of  the  Canadian  Conference  for  its  pro  rata  share  of 
the  property  of  the  Book  Concern,  in  consequence  of  its  sepa- 
ration from  the  Parent  Body  in  the  United  States.  The  outcome  * 
of  this  long  controversy  is  an  example  of  the  ease  with  which 
even  a  written  Constitution  may  be  evaded  under  pressing 
exigency. 

The  sixth  "Restrictive  Rule"  was  the  basis  of  the  refusal 
of  the  General  Conference  to  divide  the  property  as  aforesaid. 
But  the  session  of  1836  adjusted  the  difficulty,  by  contracting 
to  allow  the  Canadian  brethren  a  large  special  discount  for  a 
certain  length  of  time  on  the  books  thereafter  to  be  purchased 
by  them,  thus  merely  straining  the  "rule,''  and  doing  substantial 
justice  to  the  plaintiff  in  the  case. 

The  next  Constitutional  contest  of  importance  was  the  mem- 
orable struggle  over  the  case  of  Bishop  Andrew.  The  great 
debate  in  the  General  Conference  of  1844,  and  especially  the 
great  speech  of  Dr.  Hamline,  has  already  been  mentioned  in 
its  appropriate  chapter.  The  doctrine  of  that  historic  argument 
may  be  said  to  have  voiced  the  whole  northern  section  of  the 
Church.  For  many  years  the  subordination  of  the  episcopate 
to  the  General  Conference  was  regarded  as  indisputable.  Later 
developments,  however,  in  substance,  if  not  in  form,  reopened 
the  well-settled  question. 

But  another  financial  question  arose  out  of  the  great  storm 
of  1844.  The  Church,  for  the  division  whereof  the  famous 
"Plan  of  Separation"  was  formulated,  was  in  fact  divided  by  the 


Thi  Constitution. 


417 


action  of  the  southern  conferences,  and  then  came  the  second 
claim  for  a  division  of  the  property  of  the  Book  Concern. 

The  General  Conference  of  1848  declared  the  "Plan  of  Sepa- 
ration" null  and  void,  as  the  annual  conferences  had  non- 
concurred.  Resolutions  were  passed  at  this  session  declaring 
that  "the  General  Conference  has  no  authority  to  divide  the 
Church,"  and  falling  back  in  the  personal  rights  of  each  indi- 
vidual member  to  go  or  stay,  regardless  of  Conference  action. 
This  ground  was  evidently  taken,  from  the  fact  that  the  confer- 
ences on  the  proposed  border-line  of  separation  were  by  no 
means  unanimous  in  favor  of  division. 

The  decision  of  Judge  Nelson,  already  mentioned,  held  the 
doctrine  that  the  General  Conference  had  the  right  and  power  to 
divide  the  Church.  The  provision  in  "the  Plan  of  Separation," 
for  referring  the  question  of  division  to  the  annual  conferences, 
he  held  did  not  invalidate  the  action  of  the  General.  Conference 
of  1844,  at  which  the  whole  power  of  the  Church  was  present, 
either  personally  or  by  representation.  Hence,  on  the  vote  of 
the  General  Conference  alone,  regardless  of  the  effect  of  the 
votes  of  northern  annual  conferences,  Judge  Nelson  gave  judg- 
ment for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South. 

Here  appears  a  legal  recognition  of  the  plenary  power  of 
the  General  Conference,  under  the  action  of  its  organic  law. 
In  view  of  this,  the  Western  Section  of  the  Methodist  Book 
Concern  wisely  settled  their  side  of  the  case  by  arbitration, 
though  a  prior  decision  of  the  United  States  District  Court  had 
been  made  in  their  favor. 

The  next  important  change  in  the  structure  of  the  Church, 
as  to  its  terms  of  membership,  was  that  which  was  voted  in  the 
General  Conference  of  1864.  The  General  Rule  on  Slavery 
was  so  changed  as  to  make  slaveholding  a  bar  to  membership. 
This  action  was  referred  to  the  annual  conferences  for  ratifi- 
cation, as  if  the  General  Rules  of  the  United  Societies  had  been 
a  part  of  the  organic  law  of  the  Church.  Although  that  body 
of  moral  precepts  had  not  been  formally  adopted  by  the  Confer- 
ence or  Convention  of  1784,  they  early  came  to  be  bound  up 
along  with  the  annual  editions  of  the  Discipline.  In  this  way 
they  gradually  attained  to  a  conceded  authority,  and  by  pre- 
cedent only  were  allowed  to  have  the  force  of  law. 


418 


The  General  Conference. 


"The  change  in  the  General  Rule,"  as  the  phrase  commonly 
ran,  was  carried.  But  it  can  not  be  tabulated  as  an  amendment 
to  the  Constitution,  since  it  was  not  the  Constitution,  but  only 
the  "General  Rule"  which  was  amended. 

Even  the  organic  change  adopted  by  the  General  Conference 
of  18G8,  sent  down  to  the  annual  conferences,  and  ratified  by 
the  General  Conference  of  1872,  was  simply  an  amendment  of 
the  Second  Restrictive  Rule,  incorporating  the  principle  of  lay 
representation  into  the  General  Conference,  as  tabulated  in 
Article  VI  of  the  Constitution  of  1784.  All  else  relating  to  lay 
delegation  is  merely  statutory.* 

The  election  of  Missionary  Bishops  by  the  General  Con- 
ferences of  18SS  and  1892  may  be  set  down  as  an  act  amendatory 
to  Article  VII  of  the  tabulated  Constitution  of  1784.  The 
establishment  of  the  principle  of  a  localized  episcopate  for 
special  cases  is  of  the  nature  of  Constitution.  All  else  in  refer- 
ence to  the  missionary  episcopate  is  merely  statutory.  Thus 
TJ179,  Section  VI,  of  the  Discipline  of  189G  may  be  tabulated 
as  Amendment  XII  to  Article  VII  of  the  Constitution  of  1784. 

The  latest  recorded  action  of  the  General  Conference,  in 
which  the  question  of  Constitution  is  concerned,  is  found  in  the 
Journal  of  the  session  of  1896,  page  291.  Upon  motion  of 
President  William  F.  Warren,  the  Conference  Voted  to  appoint 
a  new  Constitutional  Commission,  to  consist  of  three  bishops, 
six  ministers,  and  six  laymen,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  review 
the  labors  of  the  Commission  of  1888,  and  to  set  forth  a  draft, 
in  logical  order,  of  the  existing  organic  law  of  the  Church. 
They  are  also  to  propose  modifications  of  the  forms  under  which 
such  law  at  present  exists.  The  Commission  was  directed  to 
report  the  result  of  its  labors  in  the  Church  papers  as  early  as 
January,  1899,  and  to  present  its  final  report  to  the  General 
Conference  of  1900. 

*The  above  remark  will  also  cover  the  constitutional  side  of  "The  Woman 
Question."  There  is  no  sex  in  legal  principles.  The  Constitution,  as  formu- 
lated and  tabulated  in  Article  VI.  above,  knows  nothing  of  men  or  Women  as 
such.  Everything  in  the  history  of  the  government  of  the  Church  in  which 
the  distinction  of  sex  occurs  is  merely  statutory.  For  example:  The  Disci- 
plinary definition  of  the  word  "  laymen  "  includes  "all  the  members  of  the 
Church  who  are  not  members  of  the  Annual  Conferences."  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  partisan  definition  given  to  the  word  by  the  judiciary  committee  in 
1808  applies  the  term  to  male  members  only.  It  is  a  mere  question  of  legisla- 
tion, which  the  General  Conference  may  reverse  or  cast  out  at  will. 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Abolitionism  115,  291 

Addresses  and  fraternal  let- 
ters from  African  Methodist 

Episcopal  Zion  Church   210 

British  Conference,  51,  59, 
65,  70,  90,  109,  113,  121, 
140,  151,  163,  179,  189,  215 
Canada  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence  130,  145 

Evangelical  Association....  180 
Irish  Conference,  171,  180, 

204,  216 
National   Association  of 

Local  Preachers   210 

Addresses  and  fraternal  let- 
ters to  African  Methodist 

Episcopal  Church   180 

British  Conference  51,  68, 

74,  94,  104,  112,  114,  125, 
145,  149,  152,  173,  180 
Canada  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence, 125,  131,  143,  173,  180 

Coke,  Thomas  70,  75 

Missionary  Society,  Wes- 
leyan, in  London   81 

Admission  of  preachers  into 

Conference   12 

Of  women  as  lay  dele- 
gates  209,  214,  345 

Vote  to  be  taken  on   219 

Protest  against   222 

Reports  of  Committee  on  .  223 
Further  Report  of  Com- 
mittee '.   224 

Africa,  Bishop  for   125 

Agenda   222 

Alcohol,  Effects  of,  to  be 

taught   227 

Allowances   267 

Amendment,  James  O'Kelly's  2 
American  Colonization  Soci- 
ety  103,  289 

University   220 

Ames,   Edward    R.,  elected 

Bishop    149 

Amusements,  Sinful   183 

Andrew,  James  O.,  elected 
bishop   110 


Page. 

Andrew,  James  O.,  connection 

with  slavery  129,  131,  295 

Resolution  requesting  his 

resignation   133,  296 

Substitute  for  resolution, 

133,  135,  299 
Adheres     to  Methodist 
Episcopal,  Church, 

South    139 

Andrews,  Edward  G.,  elected 

bishop   185 

Annual  Conference  Minutes, 

official   200 

Answers  to  Addresses.  (See 
Addresses,  to.) 

Antinomianism   46 

Appeals  and  References   63 

Triers  of   186 

Trials  of,  by  Committees, 

156,  158 

Arbitration  of  International 

Differences   222 

Ardent  Spirits.    (See  Temper- 
ance)  105 

Arminian  Magazine   55 

Arrangement  of  Discipline, 

66,  68,  160,  167,  177 

Articles  of  Religion  47 

Change  in  Article  XXIII,  67 
Typographical   error  in 
Art.  XVIII  corrected  ....  124 
Asbury,  Francis: 

Contemplated  visit  to  Eu- 
rope   77 

Death  and  burial   79 

Desire  to  resign  his  bish- 
opric   59 

Funeral  sermon   79 

Life  of  85,  89,  92,  93,  132 

Portrait  of,  requested   76 

Traveling  companion  al- 
lowed  61 

A  x  1  e  y  ,  James  ;  Temperance 
Resolutions  76,  81 

Baker,  Osmon  C,  elected 

bishop   149 

Band  societies  34,  156 


419 


420 


Index. 


Page. 

Baptism  27,  46 

Bible   Society,  American, 

138,  153,  215 

Bible  Society,  Methodist   103 

Dissolution  of   120 

Bishop  for  Africa  125,  155 

Bishop  for  Canada   112 

Bishops,  How  many  to  assist 

Asbury  54,  60 

Election  by  ballot,  Mode 

of   61 

First  written  Address  of, 
by  William  McKendree  75 

Nomination  of   256 

Book  Agents:  Term  of  serv- 
ice 67,  119 

Made  Co-ordinate   184 

Book  Concern : 

Removed  to  New  York   66 

Branch  established  in  Cin- 
cinnati   84 

Division  of  property  with 
Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  South   142 

New   buildings   in  New 

York  authorized   175 

Alleged  frauds  and  mis- 
management  181 

Financial    condition  of 

Western   189 

Corner-stone  laid   212 

Book  Concern  litigation,  150,  360 
Book  Depositories  estab- 
lished   148 

Book  of  Letters   72 

Books,  Circulation  of   17 

Books    ordered    to  be  pub- 
lished ....68,  72,  74,  83,  87,  91,  355 
Bowman,  Thomas,  elected 

bishop   185 

Retired   226 

Brown,  George,  Reflections  on 

Bishop  Hedding   102 

Building  churches  40,  86 

Burke,  William,  Case  of,  85,  92,  120 

California  Christian  Advo- 
cate  148 

Call  to  preach   20 

Canada  affairs  81,  100,  108, 

110,  114,  322 
Bishop  to  be  ordained  for..  112 
Capers,    William,  Fraternal 
Delegate  to  British  Confer- 
ence  102 

Resolution  of,  1844   293 

Censure,  Resolution  of   115 

Repeal  of   174 


Page. 

Centenary  of  American  Meth- 
odism  161,  165 

Centennial    Address   of  the 

bishops   188 

of    American  Independ- 
ence  184 

Services  in  Conference   193 

Central  Christian  Advocate....  154 
Changes  in  Discipline,  1852- 

1868,  to  be  printed   174 

Charge,  Preachers  in   16 

Chartered  Fund. .54, 60,  80,  81, 85, 

101,  108,  155,  269 

Children's-day  174,  183 

Christian  perfection  45,  46 

Christmas  Conference  235 

Church  constitution   217 

Church  eras: 

The  Wesleyan    393 

The  Conference   395 

Church  Extension   166 

Insurance    220 

Manual  to  be  published....  200 

Union  and  fraternity   212 

Clark,     Davis    W.,  elected 

bishop   166 

Class-leaders,  Course  of  Read- 
ing for   212 

Class-meetings    33 

Code,  Ecclesiastical,  of  juris- 
prudence and  procedure   187 

Cokesbury  College   43 

Coke,  Thomas : 

Overture  to  Conference. .54,  244 

The  secret  therefor   245 

Allowed  to  return  to  Eu- 
rope   59 

May  continue   to  reside 

there   70 

Name  to  be  retained  in 

the  Minutes   71 

Letter  from   75 

Letters  to  70,  75 

Position  of   237 

Collections   14 

Colored  Conferences   181 

Colored  population,  Missions 

among   137 

Colored  testimony  in  Church 

trials  125,  129,  309 

Color  line,  The  .   377 

Columbian  Exposition,  Sun- 
day opening  of   218 

Comfort,  Silas,  Case  of  124,  126 

Commission  to  adjust  difficul- 
ties with  the  Church  South, 

191,  318 

Conference  sessions,  how  long  65 


Index. 


421 


Page. 

Conference  sessions,  Who  shall 

preside  at   66 

Conferences  in  1796   52 

Conferences  to  have  charge 

of  local  interests   92 

Cpnsecration  of  bishops  in- 
stead of  ordination   165 

Constitutional  commission   229 

Constitution,  The  390,  407 

Definitions   390 

Forms    of,   and  amend- 
ments to  400,  404 

Council,  The   4 

Cranston,  Earl,  elected  bishop,  226 

Daily  Christian  Advocate, 

Beginning  of   139 

Deacons,  Traveling,  election, 

ordination  and  duties  of   11 

Deaconesses   211 

Form  of  consecration  author- 
ized   228 

Declaration  of  southern  dele- 
gates 135,  303 

Report  on   136 

Delegates,  Eraternal.  (See 

Fraternal  Delegates)  

Delegates  from  Mission  Con- 
ferences   169 

Delegates  in  1800  \   62 

Delegation  to  visit  President 

Lincoln   164 

The  President's  answer 

to  address   164 

Device  for  preventing  too 

much  talking   75 

Discipline,  New  arrangement 

of  66,  68,  150,  167,  177 

Notes  on   64,  241 

District  Conferences  7,  184 

Doctrinal  Tracts  to  be  omitted 

from  Discipline   78 

Dress  38,  156 

Duty  of  Bishops   10 

Deacons    12 

Elders   11 

Preachers  12,  20 

Ecclesiastical  Code  ....196,  199, 

254 

Ecumenical  Conference  199, 

211,  329,  330 

Education : 

Cokesbury  College   56 

Commission  to  reorganize 

educational  work  213,  218 

Commissioners  of  educa- 
tion appointed   127 


Page. 

Education : 

General  Conference  Sem- 
inary   91 

Plan  for  literary  institu- 
tions  85,  86 

Board  of   174 

Elders,  traveling,  election,  or- 
dination and  duties  of   11 

Emory,  John,  elected  bishop..  L10 

Funeral  sermon  1 L3 

Employment  of  time  

Episcopacy  9,  239  ,  241,  251 

Episcopal  residences   201 

Epworth  Herald   218 

Ep worth  League   218 

Equal  representation  218,  225 

Evangelists  in  pastoral 

charges   228 

Expenses  of  General  Confer- 
ences, To  meet  185,  194 

Facing  down  a  Conference   250 

Fast-day  services   162 

Fasting  and  humiliation,  Day 

for    130 

Fees  for  marriage  services,  15,  62 

Few,  Ignatius  A   287 

Fisk,  Wilbur,  on  temperance,  105 

Elected  bishop   118 

FitzGerald,  James  N.  elected 

bishop  :   211 

Foss,  Cyrus  D.,  elected  bishop  168 
Foster,  Randolph  S.,  elected 

bishop   185 

Retired   226 

Fowler,  Charles  H.,  elected 

bishop   205 

Fraternal  delegates :  From 
African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  190,  197, 

'     216,  327 
African  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Zion  Church  171, 

216,  225,  325 
American  Baptist  Home 

Missionary  Society,  180,  327 
British  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence, 90,  121,  140,  151,  162, 
171,  179,  189,  197,  204, 

210,  215,  224,  324 
Canada  Methodist  Church, 

190,  204,  210,  216,  225,  323 
Canada  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  170,  180, 

190,  197 
Canada  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence ........122,  130,  140,  147, 

152,  171,  180,  325 


422 


Index. 


Page. 

Fraternal  delegates:  From 
Colored  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  216,  225 

Evangelical  Association, 

180,  197 
Evangelical  Methodist 
Church  of  France  and 

Switzerland  204,  323 

Eastern  British  America 

Conference  171,  180,  325 

Independent  Methodist 
Churches  of  Maryland, 

210,  216 
Irish   Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence  152,  163,  180,  197, 

210,  225,  323 
Methodist  Church,  The, 

180,  190 
Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  South  190,  197, 

204,  210,  224,  316,  329 
Methodist  Protestant 

Church  180,  190,  197,  327 

National  Council  of  Con- 
gregational Churches, 

180,  190,  204,  328 
Presbyterian  General  As- 
sembly  179,  190,  197,  325 

Reformed  Episcopal 

Church  190,  197,  225,  327 

United  Brethren  in 


Christ   216 

Wesleyan  Methodist 
Church  of  New  Zealand, 

225,  331 

Fraternal  delegates:  To 

African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church   190 

African  Methodist  Eisco- 

pal  Zion  Church   181 

Baptist  Church  (through 
their  missionary  socie- 
ties)  181 


British  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence.^, 102, 125, 166, 173, 181 
Canada  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.. 161,  166, 173,  181 
Canada  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence  125,  126,  149,  161, 

166,  173,  181 
Evangelical  Association, 

127,  166,  173,  181,  323 
Eastern  British  America 

Conference  173,  181 

IrishWcsleyan  Conference  181 
Methodist  Church,  The  ....  181 
M  e  t  h  o  d  i  s  t  Episcopal 
Church,  South   186 


Page. 


Fraternal  delegates :  To 

Methodist  Protestant 

Church   181 

National  Council  of  Con- 
gregational Churches....  181 
Presbyterian  General  As-  . 

sembly   181 

Reformed  Episcopal 

Church   198 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Con- 
nection   198 

Fraternal  delegates,  Reports 
of,  sent  to: 
African  Methodist  Episco- 


pal Church.. 190,  198,  210,  225 
African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Zion  Church..  190,  210, 

216  225 

Baptist  Church    190 

British  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence  132,  173,  190,  198, 

204,  210,  216 
Canada  Methodist  Church, 


204,  210,  225 
Canada  Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence  133 

Evangelical  Association, 

131,  190,  198 
Eastern  British  America 

Conference   190 

Irish   Wesleyan  Confer- 
ence. (See  British  Wes- 
leyan  Conference.) 
Methodist  Church,  The.  ..  190 
Methodist  Episcopal 


-     Church,  South  198,  204, 

210,  216,  225 
Methodist  Protestant 

Church  :.  190,  198 

Presbyterian  General  As- 
sembly 190,  198 

Reformed  Episcopal 

Church   198 

Wesleyan  Methodist  Con- 
nection  190,  198 

Fraternal  Greetings,  Sent  or 
received : 
African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  180,  204,  225 

African  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Zion  Church  204,  225 

Baptist  National  Mission- 
ary Societies   204 

Cumberland  Presbyterian 

General  Assembly  . .  204,  210 
General  xissembly,  Pres- 
byterian Church,  204,  210 

216,  225 


Index. 


423 


Page. 

Fraternal  Greetings: 

General  Conference, 
Methodist  Protestant 

Church  :...216,  225 

National  Council  of  Con- 
gregational Churches  ....  197 
Protestant  Episcopal  min- 
isters, New  Jersey   325 

Reformed  German 

Church   204 

Reformed  Episcopal 
Church  (Bishop  C.  E. 

Cheney)   204 

Southern  Baptist  Church,  204 

Fraternal  relations   310 

Freedmen's  Aid  Society  ....172,  376 

Its  enlarged  powers   384 

Fund  for  the  propagation  of 

the  gospel   31 

Funeral  sermons: 

On  Bishop  Asbury   79 

On  Bishop  Emory   113 

On  Bishop  George   108 

On  Bishop  Hedding   147 

On  Bishop  McKendree   113 

On  Bishop  Waugh   157 

General  Conference: 

Change  of  time  for  meet- 
ing 59,  229 

Composition  of  5,  178 

Delegated  Conference 

asked  for  :  60,  71 

Delegated  Conference 

authorized   73 

Entertainment  of   227 

First  session  of   1 

Genesis  of   233 

Journal  for  1792  to  be  re- 
produced   215 

Journal  imperfect,  1872  ....  190 

Organization,  Plan  for   195 

Papers  injured  by  ink   90 

General  rules   32 

Slavery   124,  168 

Temperance  76,  137,  144 

George ,  Enoch ,  elected  bishop ,  80 

Funeral  sermon   108 

German  Conferences   167 

German  hymn-book  164,  167 

Golden  Hours  established   173 

Character  and  scope  to  be 

changed   191 

Golden  Hours  discontinued....  201 
Goodsell,  Daniel  A.,  elected 

bishop   211 

Goodwin,  John  R.,  lay  dele- 
gate killed   196 


Page. 

Hamline,  Leonidas  L.,  Speech 
in  General  Conference,  1844,  300 

Elected  bishop   136 

Resignation  of  bishopric,  147 
Resolutions  of  sympathy 

for    147 

Hannah,  John,  fraternal  dele- 
gate from  England   90 

Harding,  Francis  A.,  appeal  ..  128 
Harris,  William  L.,  elected 

bishop   185 

Hartzell,  Joseph  C,  elected 

bishop  for  Africa   226 

Haven,  Erastus  0.,  elected 

bishop   199 

Haven,  Gilbert,  elected 

bishop  P.   185 

Hedding,  Elijah, elected 

bishop   93 

Funeral  sermon   147 

Official  conduct  examined ,  102 
Requested  to  prepare  his 

biography   145 

Historical  statements   48 

History  of  the  Methodists   74 

Hurst,  John  F.,  elected 

bishop   198 

Hymn-Book: 

Revision  authorized  to  be 
made  by  book  steward 

(18C4)    69 

Revision  by  Daniel  Hitt 

(1808)   73 

Revision  by  Book  Agents 

(1832)   110 

New  Hymn  Book  to  be 
prepared  by  committee 

(1848)   143 

Revision  (1876)    194 

Instruction  of  children   22 

Insurance  of  Church  property, 

Company  for  220,  225 

Irish  Conference   204 

Italian  Mission  Conference   200 

Itinerancy,  Committee  on, 

Report  of,  (1840)   289 

Janes,  Edmund  S.,  elected 
bishop   136 

John  Street  Church,  New 
York   172 

Journal  of  General  Confer- 
ence for  1792,  to  be  repro- 
duced  215 

Journals  of  the  General  Con- 
ference, to  1836,  to  be  pub- 
lished  149 


424 


Index. 


Page. 

Joyce,  Isaac  W.,  elected 
bishop   211 

Kingsley,  Calvin,  elected 
bishop   167 

Ladies  and  Pastors'  Chris- 
tian Union   184 

Ladies'  Repository  established  123 
Character  and  scope  to  be 
changed   191 

Lay  delegates  admitted   178 

Address  of   178 

In  annual  conferences   195 

Lay  delegation  . ..91,  1C4,  122,  150 
155,  159,  165,  174,  177,  332,  336 
Circular  of  Conference  on  95 
Convention    of  laymen, 

Address  of,  1864   334 

Women  delegates   341 

Letter  from  women  delegates  223 

Library  Associations   207 

Local  preachers : 

Ordination  of   77 

Purchase  of  books>t  min- 
isterial discount   154 

Trial  of   57 

Lord's  Supper,  The   27 

Lottery  tickets   78 

Lynchings  condemned   220 

McCabe,  Charles  C,  elected 

bishop   226 

McKendree,  William,  elected 

bishop   71 

Presents  written  address..  75 

Funeral  sermon   113 

Life   to   be  written  by 

Bishop  Soule    113 

Life,  Committee  on   132 

Mallalieu,  Willard  F.,  elected 

bishop   205 

Marriage   58,  66 

Of  preachers   85,  207 

Marriages,  Improper   37 

Masculine  pronouns  in  Disci- 
pline, how  to  be  construed, 

201,  342 

Memorial  services:  For 

Bishop  Osmon  C.  Baker....  179 

Calvin  Kingsley   179 

Edward  Thomson   179 

Davis  W.  Clark   179 

T.  A.  Morris   192 

E.  S.  Janes   197 

E.  R.  Ames   198 

Gilbert  Haven   198 

Erastus  O.  Haven   204 


Page, 

Memorial  services  I  For 

Levi  Scott   204 

Jesse  T.  Peck   204 

Matthew  Simpson   209 

Isaac  W.  Wiley   209 

William  L.  Harris   209 

Missionary  bishop  J.  W. 

Roberts    192 

T.  M.  Eddy   192 

D.  D.  Lore   192 

N.  E.  Cobleigh   192 

ReubenNelson   198 

Robert  L.  Dashiell   198 

John  R.  Goodwin   198 

Geo.  W.  Woodruff   204 

Erasmus  Q.  Fuller   204 

Daniel  Curry   209 

Marshall  W.  Taylor   209 

Daniel  D.  Whedon   209 

R.  W.  C.  Farns worth   210 

John  M.  Phillips   216 

J.  H.  Bayliss   216 

B.  St.  J.  Fry   216 

James  W.  Mendenhall   226 

Jonas  O.  Peck   226 

SandfordHunt   226 

Benj.  F.  Crary   226 

Henry  Liebhart   226 

Merrill,  Stephen  M.,  elected 

Bishop   185 

Methodist  Book  Concern   352 

Incorporated,  N.  Y  119,  160 

Cincinnati   119,  173 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

South  140,  204,  216,  224 

Methodist  Historical  Socie- 
ties  206,  207 

Methodist  Magazine  55,  78,  83 

Methodist  Protestant  Church,  99 

Methodist  Repository   68 

Methodist  situation  in  Amer- 
ica to  1784   235 

Metropolitan  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C  149,  172 

Minard  Missionary  Home   183 

To  be  disposed  of   201 

Ministerial  position  and  dig- 
nity   235 

Ministerial  salaries  62,  63,  80 

Ministerial  support: 

Gifts  to  ministers.. ..15,  60,  62 
Plans  devised  by  Confer- 
ence  64,  73 

Raising  supplies,  Method 

of  62,  81 

Raising  supplies  for  super- 
annuates, widows,  etc....  29 


Index. 


425 


Page. 

Ministerial  time  limit   264 

Extended  164,  212 

Ministers  becoming  slave 

owners   64 

Minutes   234 

Missionary  appropriations 

limited   227 

Missionary  bishopric  125,  155, 

205,  211,  369 
Missionary  Magazine,-  and 

books   207 

Missionary    secretary,  resi- 
dent, First   119 

Missionary  Society   365 

Constitution  of  119,  367 

Mission  Conferences,  Foreign,  164 
Made  Annual  Confer- 
ences   169 

Mission  house   175 

Mob  law  condemned   220 

Morris,  Thomas  A.,  elected 

bishop   118 

Semi-centennial  sermon  ..  166 
Music  books : 

By  James  Evans  recom- 
mended   73 

Methodist  Harmonist   110 

Hymn  and  Tune  Book   194 

Mutual  rights  100,  102 

National  Magazine  established  149 
Discontinued   159 

National  Repository  Discon- 
tinued  201 

Nebraska  Christian  Advocate  216 

Necessity  of  union   23 

Newman,   John    P.,  elected 
bishop   211 

Ninde,  William  X.,  elected 
bishop   205 

Non-resident  delegates  not  ad- 
mitted   209 

Northwestern  Christian  Advo- 
cate  148 

OfficialBoards, Organization 

and  duties  206,  228 

O'Kelly,  James, Withdrawal  of  4 

Opium-smoking   220 

Order  of  Public  Worship   228 

Orders,  Clerical   238 

Organic  law   394 

Organic  union   225 

Papers,  official,  established 
or  adopted : 

CaliforniaChristian  Advo- 
cate 148,  154 


Page. 

Papers : 

Central  Christian  Advo- 
cate 148,  154 

Christliche  Apologete   126 

Methodist  Advocate   174 

Northwestern  Christian 

Advocate   148 

Pacific  Christian  Advo- 
cate   154 

Discontinued  as  official  200 
Pittsburg  Christian  Advo- 
cate   126 

Richmond  Christian  Ad- 
vocate 119,  126 

Southern  Christian  Ad- 
vocate  (Charleston)  119 

Southwestern  Christian 
Advocate  (Nashville), 

119,  126 
Southwestern  Christian 
Advocate  (for  colored 

members)  174,  193 

Pacification,  Committee  of   130 

Report  of   131 

Pastoral  term,  Limit  of   264 

Pastoral  term  extended  ....164,  212 
Peck,  Jesse  T.,  elected  bishop  185 

Perseverance  of  believers   46 

Pews  in  churches   80 

Phillips,  John   M.,  layman, 
elected  Book  Agent,  New 

York   205 

Pierce,  Lovick.,141, 190, 298,312,316 
Plan  for  seating  Conference.... '226 
Of  Separation  (adopted)....  137 

Repealed   144 

Portraits  in  Methodist  Maga- 
zine   109' 

Preachers  as  teachers  in  Meth- 
odist institutions   86 

As  teachers  in  non-Meth- 
odist colleges   112 

In  charge   16 

Preaching   20 

Rules  for  continuing  or 

desisting  from   21 

Predestination   46 

Prelacy   242 

Presiding  elders : 

Their  appointment  6,  63, 

103,  258 

Election  of  77,  86 

Suspended  resolution  con- 
cerning  89 

Resolution  made  of  no  au- 
thority   92 

Resolution  referred  to 
Conference  of  1828   94 


426 


Inch  r. 


Page. 

Presiding  eldership   256 

Printing   addresses,  reports, 

etc.,  authorized   94 

of  Books,  The   41 

Privileges  granted  to  non- 
members    36 

Promiscuous  sittings  in 
churches   147 

Protest  of  the  southern  con- 
ferences 135,  305 

Answer  to  137,  306 

Provisional  delegates  ad- 
mitted  170 

Proviso  concerning  restrict- 
ive Rules,  Change  in  104,  109 

Publication  of  books,  Regula- 
tions concerning   64 

Publications,  private,  Preach- 
ers enjoined  from   74 

Public  worship   28 

Order  of   228 

Quarterly  Meeting  Confer- 
ence..  66 

Radical  movement,  The   99 

Ratio  of  representation,  83,  119, 

156,  160,  195,  205,  218 
Receiving  preachers  into  con- 
ference, Method  of   12 

Records  of  Conference  pro- 
ceedings   64 

Reece,  Richard,  from  British 

Conference   90 

Reformers  of  Church  polity,  91,  99 

Reid,  John  M.,  Death  of   224 

Reporter  of  Conference  pro- 
ceedings employed   121 

Representation  in  General 

Conference  206,  211 

Restoration  of  expelled  or 
withdrawn  members,  in  the 
Radical  movement  possible,  101 

Restrictive  Rules,  The   247 

Revision  of  rituals  158,  163,  165 

Ritual   47 

Roberts,  Robert  R.,  elected 

bishop   80 

Rocky  Mountain  Christian 
Advocate   216 

Sa BBATn  Union,  American   220 

Salaries  of  preachers,  14,  62,  63,  80 

Scott,  Levi,  elected  bishop   148 

Scott.  Orange,  censured  ...117,  280 
Sent  of  General  Conference  to 
be  determined  by  the  Bookt 
Committee    220 


Page. 

Sectarian  schools,  No  Govern- 
ment funds  for   228 

Semi-centennial  sermon  by 

Bishop  Morris    166 

Simpson,    Matthew,  elected 

bishop   148 

Singing,  Of   28 

Sittings  in  churches,  Family  ..  147 
Slaveholding  in  ministry  and 

official  membership   144 

Slavery  271,  290 

Abolition  petitions   62 

Bishops'  Address  on    282 

Chapter  on  82,  160,  274 

Committee  on,  1840   285 

Ministers  connected  with.  128 

Reports  on  114,  153 

Rule  on,  changed   168 

Temporizing,    and  com- 
promising with  67,  74 

Tracts  on   156 

Smith,  William  A.,  Resolu- 
tion of   288 

Soule,  Joshua,  elected  bishop.  87 
Resigned,  without  ordina- 
tion   89 

Elected  a  second  time   92 

Doctrines  preached  in  a 

sermon  examined   105 

Adheres  to  the  Church 

South    141 

Asks  for  examination  of 

his  character,  1844-46.  ..  141 
Facing  down   a  Confer- 
ence  250 

Address  before  the  Con- 
ference, 1844   298 

South,  Church  wrork  in  the....  372 
Standing  Committees,  When 

to  meet   226 

State  of  the  Church,  Report 

on   143 

Stewards,   Qualification  and 

duty  of   37 

How  many  •  ••  207 

Sunday-school  hymnal  au- 
thorized   206 

Sunday-schools   94 

Pastors  to  organize   104 

Constitution  for  society  ...  194 
Supernumerary  preachers  de- 
fined   9 

Supplying  circuits  during  con- 
ference  •"  26 

Support  of  bishops  and  their 

families  158,  185,  357 

Sympathy  for  Cuba  and  Arme-  ^ 
nia,  Resolutions  of   228 


Index. 


427 


Page. 

Taylor,  William,  elected 

bishop  for  Africa   205 

Retired   226 

Teachers  into  schools,  To  in- 
troduce  94 

Teachers'  Sunday-school  Jour- 
nal   161 

Temperance  76,  81,  105,  109,  218 

Juvenile  Societies   201 

Term  of  Ministerial  Service....  66 
Extended  164,  212 

Theological  Institute,  Ger- 
many  161 

Thoburn,  James  M.,  elected 
bishop  for  India  and  Malay- 
sia  211 

Thomson,  Edward,  elected 
bishop   166 

Tobacco,  Use  of,  by  preachers 

on  trial   199 

By  looal  preachers   206 

Tracts  on  Slavery   156 

Trial  of  local  preachers    57 

Members   38 

Ministers  or  preachers   23 

Trials  of  appeals  by  a  commit- 
tee 156,  158 

Triers  of  appeals   186 

Trunk  for  General  Conference 
papers  and  journals  77,  84 

Trusteeship  of  the  General 
Conference   163 

Trusteeship  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church   173 

Union  Societies   99 

Union  of  other  Churches  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church'  171,  173,  315 

United  Brethren  in  Christ   216 

United,  States  Constitution, 

Amendment  of   168 

University  Senate'   220 


Pauk. 

Vincent,  John  H.,  elected 

bishop  211 

Visiting,  Pastoral  

Vote  of  the  Church  on  lay 

delegation   175 

On  women   as  lay  dele- 
gates   345 

Walden,  John    M.,  elected 

bishop   205 

Warren,  Henry  W.,  elected 

bishop   198 

Waugh,    Beverly,  elected 

bishop   118 

Funeral  sermon   157 

Wesley,  John,  his  Bible  pre- 
sented to  the  Conference  ...  203 

Autocracy  of    233 

His  relation  to  American 

Methodism    234 

Western  Methodist  Book  Con- 
cern : 

Martin  Ruter,  first  agent,  87 

Two  agents  for   112 

Incorporation  of  119,  173 

Whatcoat,   Richard,  elected 

bishop   61 

Death  of   71 

Wiley,  Isaac   W.,  elected 

bishop   185 

Willard,  Frances  E   198 

Winans,  William   287 

Withdrawal  of  James  O' Kelly 

and  others   4 

Withdrawal  of  women  dele- 
gates   223 

Woman  question,  The  210,  346 

Woman's  Foreign  Missionary 

Society  >   183 

Home  Missionary  Society  207 
Women  delegates  ineligible....  209 
Vote  on  their  eligibility, 

214,  345 


BX8381  A2C98 

The  General  conferences  of  the  Method.st 

ilfi 

1  1012  00044  0174 


DATE  DUE 

^  

iAN  2  8 



DEMCO  38-297 


